STREET DOGS: March to War
by Fanficteller
Summary: Set between the season 7 episodes "Say yes" and "The first day of the rest of your life." After the carnival events, Rick and Michonne encounter on their way home a mysterious group with a large number of people, heavy weaponry and who are as greatly organized as the saviors, though they partially live/behave like dogs more than humans. (Contains Richonne and the foul-language.)
1. Chapter 1: Stop for the night

**WELCOME TO MY FIRST THE WALKING DEAD FANFICTION.**

 **First chapter is placed after the carnival scene in the Season 7 episode "Say yes."**

 **I hope that you enjoy the reading of the first chapter of this story.**

 **Give to me then review if you liked it.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own TWD nor its characters, only my own edits in the cannon story and my own characters.**

 **ENJOY!**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1: STOP FOR THE NIGHT.**

 **After carnival scene**

After their narrowly succeeded mission in the carnival area behind of the school, after narrowly escaping from the several adversities with the walkers and after loading their van with all those guns and ammo they received from the zombified soldiers, and the boxes filled with canned goods, food, water and other supplies they were able to find in the carnival area into their van with other supplies they've found during on their trip to the carnival area, Rick and Michonne were finally able to start their trip towards their home.

The home trip was quite quiet between of them while driving through of the road.

Michonne was sitting in silence half of their trip, still having the deeply saddened expression on her face after what nearly happened back in the carnival area while she was leaned against the inside of the van's door and looked outside of the van's door window... not looking at Rick.

Rick, while driving the van, constantly looked at his lover with the concerned expression on his face.

Rick remembered that when they were gathering all the guns and ammo from the already dead and from the recently killed zombified military soldiers with the towed carts back in the carnival area, he had seen from a small distance away from Michonne that while gathering the guns, Michonne had crouched down to pick up some guns until she suddenly acted like she was crying.

Rick felt sorry for her lover and he was even converned about her when she just sat in silence during of their home trip.

Eventually, Rick pressed the brake and pulled over to the left side of the road where he then turned off the car's engine, leaning against the steering wheel and turned to Michonne, willing to have a word with her if it would help to comfort her.

Rick thought for a moment that where to start, until he let out the sigh, cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak.

"I could've gone a couple more days. I would've like that," Rick started, slowly and gently, as he looked at Michonne.

But Michonne still didn't looked back at him.

Rick eventually turned his eyes from Michonne to the floor of the van and rubbed his eyes with his fingers a bit before he turned back to Michonne.

"I haven't been sleeping," Rick stated.

"I've kept incessantly thinking about what we lost," Rick added with the heavy tone of voice as the bad memories from the past days, especially of the day when all of this nightmarish mess with the saviors started.

Slowly, Michonne turned from the window to the man she loved.

Without looking back to Michonne, Rick continued.

"Glenn... I keep thinking him all of time. He was a good guy. Brave, smart, and always as the help and support. He saved my life once. Right at the start... back in Atlanta, when I had gone badly blockaded by the walkers into the tank. He saved my life, but I couldn't save him," Rick said with a heavy heart and almost remorseful tone when he remembered the night when they had found themselves surrounded by the huge group of hostile saviors and when Abraham... and right after him Glenn, were brutally mauled to death by Negan and he was forced to watch such of brutal act helplessly.

"It's normal. I know that. Being stuck on that moment. It is not easy to accept someone very close person's passing away just like that, and with it is never easy to live" Rick said, still with the heavy heart and remorseful tone.

Then he turned back to Michonne.

"We went through something today We got a good catch. But this..." Rick stated as he pointed with his thump all of that they had received from the carnival area.

"... Even all of this doesn't cure what I feel about Glenn's lost," Rick stated.

With the sad expression and feeling sorry for the man she loved and his remorseful feelings over of Glenn's death, Michonne placed her hand comfortingly to Rick's right cheek as she looked at him into his eyes.

"Rick, I'm sorry," Michonne whispered.

Rick looked back at her lover's eyes, before he gently grabbed from Michonne's arm and placed the kiss to her wrist.

Rick then let out the deep breath, before he looked back at Michonne and kept speaking.

"After all what they did... to Denise, to Abraham, to Glenn, to Spencer and Olivia, to all of us. We're gonna fight them. That's what happens next," Rick said slowly.

"And were gonna lose people," Rick stated with the heavy heart, knowing very well how they current actions to prepare themselves to fight against the saviors may cost to them.

"Maybe a lot of them, maybe even each other."

After hearing this, reminding her what had nearly happened back in the carnival, Michonne turned away from Rick and tried to fight against her upcoming tears as she.

"But even then, it'll be worth it," Rick said as he looked at her.

Michonne felt a mental anguish inside of her heart as she was slowly but certainly losing the battle against her own tears as the deeply saddened expression slowly appeared back on her faces as she unwillingly remembered as she had saw with her very own eyes when Rick had fell from the Ferris wheel to the ground and straight to the path of the incoming walker herd. She remembered with the heavy heart how she had witnessed Rick at the mercy of the walkers after he had ran out of the ammo and got himself cornered as she had tried to get to him to help him, until she saw that the entire herd had gathered to the spot where Rick was lying, lifting with their dead hands the fresh flesh and intestines into their mouths.

Michonne remembered how deeply shocked she was after witnessing this terrible sight, as she had thought that Rick killed and eaten alive by the herd... and nearly allowed the nearby swarming walkers to do the same thing to her as she was paralyzed by the shock... until Rick, narrowly survived from being eaten by the herd had suddenly reappeared to the scene, called her name as he had picked up her sword and thrown it to her, snapping her out of her shock back into action.

After the fighting and killing the entire herd, Michonne was deeply relieved after seeing Rick still alive and well that crying the tears of relief she had jumped into Rick's arms into tight hug, not willing to let go of him.

She had also found out that what the walkers were actually eating was only a deer, which was standing nearby of the wheel and which Rick had wanted to shoot down as a replacement for the one Michonne had by the accident hunted down earlier in the woods, until it was taken from her by the saviors, who were at the unexpected visit in Alexandria, taking almost everything they had.

But still, such of shocked and a terrible sight and belief of Rick being dead still remained to mentally haunt her.

"When I thought..." Michonne started, before she suddenly paused due to her struggle against her tears, until she finally let out the sorrowful outburst to appear on her face as she lost her struggle and allowed the tears to run down her cheeks as she turned back to Rick.

"I can't lose you..." Michonne tearfully stated.

"...not after what nearly happened to you back there, just because of one deer." She added.

Rick felt with all of his heart sorry for Michonne and placed comfortingly his right hand on Michonne's left cheek and as Rick's hand touched her cheek's skin, Michonne leaned her cheek tightly against his hand and closed her eyes, letting the tears to run down along her cheeks.

Rick then wiped with his hand's thump the tears from the left cheek of Michonne's face as he looked at her into her eyes and opened his mouth to continue of speaking.

"You remember when you asked me once, what kind of life we had just surrendering to them," Rick asked gently from her, reminding Michonne about her question which she had firmly asked from him earlier after the saviors had left from Alexandria with most of their property, including their warm bed and all of their guns and after that Rick had recklessly declared to alexandrians that Negan was in power now and that this was their a new life style.

"You were right. It wasn't... It wasn't a life, but more likely living like the slaves living under the fear and tyranny." Rick stated.

"But what we did back there, in the carnival area, and what we're doing even now. We're making a future for Judith and for Glenn and Maggie's unborn baby by fighting the fight after fight. That's living. You showed me that," Rick said as he placed his hand comfortingly from Michonne's cheek to her shoulder.

Michonne, still with tearful eyes, responded to this with the slight nod as she slowly turned her eyes from Rick.

"But if we are going to do this, it also requires great sacrifices, whether we wanted or not," Rick stated.

"You can... lose me," Rick stated, with the heavy heart as he had to tell this to Michonne while knowing that right now Michonne couldn't take any thoughts of losing him.

After hearing this, Michonne looked at the man she loved with the deeply shocked expression on her face and a fear of losing him in her eyes, before she turned away from him.

"No, I can't..." Michonne said with the sorrowful tone, as she placed her right hand's fingers over her tearful eyes, noth wanting to think any possibilities or ways to lose Rick, such like of him getting the bite from the walker or being eaten by the walkers as she had thought back in the carnival or getting shot by the saviors.

"Yes, you can, Michonne. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but one day you eventually can. As well as I can lose you one day," Rick stated.

"We can lose our friends, people we love," Rick added.

"But know that it's not about us anymore."

"It's about a future," Rick gently declared.

"Our current task is to fight this fight and maybe even die... to make a better future for all of those who deserves to live and continue their future." Rick explained, before he kept briefly a pause.

"And if it turn out that it's me who doesn't make it through of everything upcoming, you're gonna have to lead the others forward because you're the one who can," Rick said gently.

From outside, Michonne face remained in sorrowful expression, but from inside of her, Michonne couldn't believe that from all of the remaining friends and family Rick still had left, she was the one to who's shoulders Rick was ready to hand over his responsibilities of the leadership and the power over Alexandria if the man she loved would not make it.

Michonne of course did not question Rick's decision to hand over his leadership on her shoulder if the day, when his time is up, eventually comes for him, but what Michonne questioned were her own skills in it. Among his people were many of those who dominated the leadership skills, those who were still alive, and those who were already dead. Michonne knew that after the destruction of the prison he had served as Rick's right-hand-woman, an advisor in difficult situations and a great support, but taking leadership on her shoulder would be a completely new and strange step.

Michonne had accustomed to be led instead of being the leader of the people and that's why she highly doubted her own leadership skills.

"But... how do you know?" She asked from Rick, yet with the sorrowful tone, as she slowly turned her eyes back to him.

"Because... you were the one who led me here," Rick gently responded.

"I know that you're not quite accustomed to the leadership like I am, even though I never asked it. The leadership over the group. It just happened to end up as my burden without expecting it and without asking for it after downfall of Hershel's farm, which happened over half a year before our first met back in the prison, but the people needed the leader back then most than ever. I would, of course, have been able to ask anyone else to take my burden as I saw that the others slowly began to develop their own leadership skills. Like Daryl, Carol, Glenn, Sasha and Hershel did as the council members back in the prison, Daryl, Glenn and Sasha alternately leading the supply runners back then and and now Maggie is secretly guiding with the manners of leader the people back in the Hilltop with Sasha and Jesus. But, because you have worked as my closest support, my closest adviser in difficult situations and as my the right-hand-woman since the downfall of the prison and our group reunion after downfall of Terminus, I assume that you can handle the tasks and the burden of the leader as well as I'm doing. I want to believe that and I trust you with my life," Rick said gently.

After Rick had finished of what he just said, still tearful Michonne forced the smile to appear on her lips as she nodded slightly but rapidly to Rick.

"I can... at least I can try," Michonne whispered as she looked at the eyes of man she loved and smiled at him.

"Just don't leave me so soon," Michonne pleaded with the tearful tone and she allowed the next tears to fall from her eyes along her cheeks.

Rick gave to her a gentle smile.

"Come here," He eventually said and he spreading his arms in intention to offer her the warm and comforting hug.

He did not need to ask twice from Michonne as he leaned towards Rick, spreading her own arms and wrapped them around of Rick's neck while Rick wrapped his own arms around of Michonne, holding her from the back with his right arm and from the back of her head with his left arm.

As they embraced each other, Michonne closed tightly her eyes, allowing yet again the tears escape from them and run along her cheeks to Rick's shoulder.

She knew that Rick was more than just right about that they may lose people they love and try to protect at all costs. Lots of people in the incoming events of future war, either to the teeth of the walkers or to the saviors, as they had already lost such of people like Merle (even though she had bad start with him,) Andrea, Hershel, Bob, Beth, Tyreese, Noah, Reg and Deanna, Denise, Abraham, Glenn, Spencer (even though she had learned from Rick after he had learned from Negan that Spencer had tried to persuade Negan either to take him away from her or even to kill him so that he can take the leadership over Alexandria before he got brutally murdered by Negan in the front of everyone's eyes "for not having "guts" to do his own dirty work) and lastly, Olivia.

She also knew that one day one of them could end up losing each other, but she didn't want to think about it and less the cause of death which could take heim permanently away from her.

All she wanted right now, was that the day when she could eventually lose him, would never come.

* * *

 **A day later...**

Rick and Michonne had driven all day back to Alexandria, during which they made visits to small places with which they came across during the journey home.

They quickly cleaned the places they came across off the walkers and quickly scavengered the places through for the food, possible guns and ammo and other necessary supplies as they had done before they had arrived to the carnival area.

They did not found much from the places they scavenged, until they found a several pea soup cans, chocolate bars, a couple of shotguns and shotgun ammunition, a handgun, intact pillows, blankets and intact two-persons mattress from at the mercy of time and weather abandoned house they came across. They even found from there a wooden box full of still useful grenades and a hidden first-aid kit.

But because the fuel was a quite low and there was not much extra fuel in the house's garage nor in there standing car's tank and began to turn the day into the night, Rick and Michonne decided to stay there for a night and sleep after they had cleared the area from the walkers.

Couple walkers was aimlessly wandering in the other side of the house, until Michonne silently finished them off by beheading them with the one swing with her katana and one more was wandering in the house's porch, which Rick killed with the heavy strike of the ax in the head.

There was also four-five walkers more in the house's empty garage, which doors were abandoned open.

As Rick and Michonne went towards the garage in intent to clean it up from the walkers and Michonne went ahead to finish off couple walkers wandering outside of the garage, three walkers surprised Rick by suddenly and unexpectedly appearing from behind of the inside corner of the garage, growling out of lust for the fresh human flesh and lunged at Rick, straightening out of their dead hands to grab from Rick.

Rick quickly backed off to get into the battle-position and raised his ax-wielding hand ready to strike. Rick also by his old officer instincts raised his left arm in the level of the walkers necks to prevent the first one's jaws from reaching him. But Rick also knew that even though this might work, Walker could even grab him from his arms and bite a piece of flesh out of his arm and infect him with the walker virus.

Besides, the other walkers could use Rick's focus on one walker as their advantage and attack him from both of his flanks. And even though Rick would be able to take out couple walkers, the third one would use it as its advantage and dig from behind of him its teeth to his arm's or his shoulder's flesh.

Rick kicked the walker, with the black waistcoat, black sunglasses and a purple mohawk, on his right side into its stomach, causing it to fall over to the ground. But two remaining walkers used this as an advantage and attacked together to Rick. One of them tried to reach with its jaws and dirty teeth to Rick's face while another, as Rick afraid, grabbed from Rick's raised arm and tried to bite from it.

But before the walkers nearly overpowered him, Michonne reacted to this quickly... and a bit recklessly by remembering what nearly happened to Rick back in the carnival... by turning around and with the one a bottom-up directed swung she cut the both walkers arms and their dead faces off...

...narrowly missing Rick's left hand and his arm's skin with the ten centimeters long space between his arm's skin and the katana's blade, even though Rick could swear that he felt either cold blade of Michonne's katana or its cold air flow nearly touching his arm's skin...

...and also accidentally splashing the walker's blood from the walkers amputated head on Rick's face in process.

Michonne noticed this and her eyes widened in surprise after she quickly realized what she nearly did, as Rick wiped the walker's blood off his faces... at the same time taking care that none drop of walker blood would get into his mouth.

The consequences would be unfortunate and fatal for him.

After Rick had wiped enough of walker blood off from the area of his eyes and mouth of his face, he briefly turned to Michonne, who was still looking at him with the terrified-looking expression.

"I'm sorry," Michonne quickly and under of her breath apologized for her reckless move with the shocked and terrified, before her focus was caught by the next approaching walkers and the one crawling on its feet from the ground and she turned around to deal with them.

Michonne finished off one rising on its feet from the ground with the one swung, which beheaded the one walker's head in half, narrowly beneath of its brains.

And while the rest of the walker was lying dead on the ground, its walker-eyes in the sliced part of its head were still moving.

Paying no attention to this, Michonne turned her focus to three remaining and incoming walkers, which Michonne killed off by stabbing the next one with the fatal stab through of its head from its head's left side and finished off the rest with the one and straight stab through of the walkers heads and brains.

The walkers limbs ended up to hang from their shoulders after Michonne's lethal blow and their corpses were left hanging in her sword, before Michonne pulled her sword back and let the walkers fell over to the ground.

Rick attacked to the last one female walker, which had the gray hair and white tattered dress, from its right flank while its own focus was on Michonne, kicking it against the garage's wall.

Turning its feral focus on Rick, who was charging at it with the ax, the walker growled at him as it stretched out its arms towards Rick and made three slow steps towards him, before Rick kicked the walker again against the wall and sliced with the heavy strike the walker's head in half with his ax.

Rick soon pulled his ax out from the walker's smashed skull and severely damaged brains, after which the walker soon fell on its knees and then on its stomach to the ground.

After the walkers were dead, the couple started to carry the dead corpses out of the garage and they dragged them to behind of border of the house's yard-area.

it took from them four reciprocating and quite heavy visits from the house to the borrder of the yard-area and back, as they picked up the dead walker corpses from the places, where they were put down for good, and either carry then on the shoulder or drag from the corpse's hands or legs and take them out of the area.

After carrying/dragging four-five walkers away from the house.

While carrying the dead walker on his shoulder, Rick briefly looked at Michonne, who was dragging the dead walker from its legs in next to him. Michonne had the regretful-like expression on her face and she avoided the eye contacts with Rick.

Michonne apparently was ashamed of the fact that her reckless counter-attack with the sword, which was fueled by her own shocking memory of seeing Rick apparently being killed by the walkers back in the carnival, to save Rick from the unexpectedly out of nowhere appeared walker nearly cost to Rick his left arm.

After the job was done and the last walkers were dragged away from the house, Rick eventually turned to Michonne as she was walking away after throwing the last walker out of the yard-area.

"Michonne, wait," Rick called her, pleading her to wait.

Michonne stopped, but it took a while before she slowly turned around to look at Rick with the remorseful eyes

And once her eyes and focus were locket at Rick, Rick opened his mouth to speak.

"This is like I haven't seen that look on your face enough for one supply run," Rick started, referring to the sad and remorseful-like look on Michonne's face, as she still kept her back turned at him.

"If it's about those walkers you killed right in front of my face..."

Michonne's sad and deeply regretful expression on her face hardened even more while hardly struggling against her own tears she looked away from Rick.

She knew what she nearly did to Rick and she scolded for it herself very much.

If you're still scolding yourself for this..." Rick started as he referred with his hand at the remaining walker blood which was still on his face, before he continued.

"And if you're still scolding yourself for nearly slicing my left arm in half with your sword while you were saving my skin, I..."

After hearing this, Michonne's eyes opened to wide, as she realized that Rick's tone of voice was rather forgiving instead of scolding.

She opened her mouth to speak, but she did not turned around to look back at Rick.

"What the fuck, Rick?! Are you seriously forgiving me for nearly slicing your left arm in half with my sword?! What the hell is wrong with you, Rick? Why the hell you're forgiving to me after you nearly lost your arm and hand because of me?!" Michonne asked the angrily, but she was still rather angry at herself than at Rick for being forgiving even though her reckless act nearly cot his his left hand.

Rick saw very clearly that Michonne was angry at herself for what nearly happened and what she didn't mean to cause to him, to the man she loved, while saving his life from the walkers. And because of this, Rick knew that he had to somehow comfort her and get her to forget the purposeless and nearly happened accident.

"Michonne, what you did was necessary. I was in the trouble with the three walkers, one of them nearly having the piece out of my arm, but you came nick in time to help me. You had no choice nor time to think of it, so you did what you had to do. I myself would have done just the very same thing for you if you were in the similar life-threatening trouble without the chance to get out of it by yourself. even though I know that judging from your mastery of swordsmanship and your high skills of survival, you rarely find yourself in such of trouble." Rick stated, but Michonne still didn't turned to him.

However, Michonne was still unimpressed, still regretful and still angry at herself.

But she was slowly losing her struggle against her own tears.

All of it happened so quickly. I barely had even time to think about the safest and most direct blow like the direct stab through of the walkers heads instead of slicing their heads and faces off and nearly slicing your arm in half in the process. But you were out there, cornered by three walkers at the same time, barely even able to . They nearly overpowered you. They even ended up almost biting you from your arm, they nearly managed to devour you, they nearly took you away from me like the ones back in the carnival nearly did. You... you were in... in trouble... they nearly... they nearly did... and then... then I... I nearly" Michonne said at first with the stern and angry-like tone, before it slowly softened as she listed all of it what nearly happened to Rick, before she began to stutter in her words while speaking as her tone changed into the mournful tone.

"That... that what... that what I did was... it was... was the reckless act... very reckless and... and very stupid act. I overreacted on that... that walker's sudden attack. I know... I know that you... could handle it... by yourself, but... but after... after what happened... back in carnival... I did not... I did not want to take chances... of nearly losing... nearly losing again. I'm... I'm sorry, Rick. I'm... I'm heartily sorry for nearly causing you to lose your arm," Michonne said with the saddened, remorseful and stuttering tone of voice while admitting a terrible mistake she nearly caused and because of it, she still couldn't bring herself to look at Rick.

Rick then walked next to her, gently grabbed from her chin and gently turned her face towards his own, so that he was able to look at her eyes.

Rick then opened his mouth to speak to still remorseful Michonne

"It's okay, Michonne. It's okay. Accidents happens often, even such of accidents which sometimes cannot be made undone. At least you didn't slashed my left arm in half with your sword, which perhaps would have been necessary for you to do - and yet with my permission - if you had not come between me and the walkers just in time before I could have received any bites from them into my arm," Rick explained gently with the forgiving tone while he placed his hand from Michonne's chin comfortingly to press against her left cheek.

"Then I really would have liked to have my hand amputated by you, Michonne," Rick added.

"You did what you had to do," Rick said with the whispering tone.

After hearing this, Michonne forced her smile appear on her lips as couple tears escaped from her eyes and run along her cheeks as she looked at the eyes of the man she loved...

"Come here," Rick said as he wrapped his arms around of Michonne, while Michonne wrapped her own arms around of Rick's neck and they both pulled each others into the comforting and warm embrace with each others.

Michonne had to admit it, Rick knew how to comfort the someone when needed.

And Rick had to admit that for the stone-hard and silent warrior he had met a long time ago back in the prison fence, wounded and covered by the walker guts and walking among of them with the baby formula what Glenn and Maggie were supposed to search for Judy, Michonne had quite soft side and a soft heart, in the case of her feelings towards Judith and Carl she loved like her own son and daughter and her feelings for the man she loved with all of her heart.

"Thank you, Rick," Michonne whispered with the tears of joy.

A warm smile appeared on Rick's lips after hearing this.

"Anytime for you," Rick whispered back.

* * *

 **A bit later.**

While Michonne was scavenging the house and checking the area for the any nearby walkers, Rick located the route leading from the road to the house and brought the van to the house yard.

They took their fully filled fan inside of the house's garage to hide from the possible bandits. They certainly are not intend to lose a good booty, which they had received with the hard and life-threatening work from the walker filled carnival area to the bandits.

And just in case to keep the curious bandits from stealing the van and the supplies from the garage, because the garage's door's locks were former and the door of garage was easily to open just pull it up, Rick and Michonne together lured several walkers into the house's garage as "guard dogs" to protect their property from the curious bandits.

After they had lured over dozen walkers inside of the garage, they locket them inside by closing the doors of the garage and sealed the doors leading to the garage from inside to prevent the walkers to breaking into the house during of the night.

When they did not have to worry about the safety of their property, knowing that from the presence of the walkers in the garage surprised bandits first reaction, a loud and even unnecessary gunfire, would wake them up easily, they placed some alarm bells to the house's porch's stairs in the case of the walkers or the bandits who're going/ordered to scavenge the house.

In addition to their favorite weapons of choice, Michonne took as her additional weapons the shotgun Mossberg 590 and the handgun Beretta 92FS while Rick took as his additional weapon the rifle Norinco Type 56, which they placed to lean against the wall loaded and ready for the worst.

After they had closed the windows from the downstairs with a tattered window curtains and blocked the doors by moving a sofa in the front of the doors to prevent anybody from entering inside through of the easier way, Rick and Michonne were able to relax a little bit.

They did not eat much that evening. Only the contents of the pea soup cans, the chocolate bars and the drunk a couple bottles of water to empty they found while scavenging the area. They needed to save most of the food for their own people back in home.

They both didn't even talk during of eating, but every time when one of them glanced at each other, they paused their eating for a moment and looked at each others into the eyes, giving to each others either a silent chuckle or loving smile before they continued eating.

They settled in the house's living room, after moving some furnitures aside to make a room for their bed.

After of which, they both set the mattress they found in the middle of the living room with the pillows and blankets.

Despite they having the candles settled to around of their camp base, carefully, of course, so they do not accidentally light the houses and at the same time themselves on fire, the night was going to be cold.

But they both knew that what the cold nights meant, even though they were in the old house in which the heating was not switched on.

Michonne quickly and with the eager smile threw off her shoes, socks, pants, sleeveless shirt and her bandana, leaving only her black underpants and her black bikinis on and lied down to the mattress, while Rick removed his own shoes, socks, pants and his shirt off and lied down behind of Michonne.

As Rick grabbed from the corner of the thick blanket and pulled it comfortably and warmly over of themselves, Rick lovingly curled himself against of Michonne's half-naked body, warming her bare back with his own body. Rick also wrapped his arms around of Michonne's body, pushing his left arm from underneath of Michonne's body and wrapped it around of his stomach while he lifted his right hand over Michonne's upper body and grabbed from her hand, pulling the blanket with his hand around of her like the constrictor snake coils its body around of its prey to the deadly embrace, but in the case of Rick, this embrace was far away from the deadly one but the warm and comforting. Rick also gave the kisses to the back of her right shoulder, to her neck and to her right cheeks as he kept wrapping Michonne inside of the blanket, nearly ignoring his own comfort inside of the warm blanket on this cold night, but only to a certain extent, when he pulled another blanket over himself and wrapped it around of both of him and Michonne. Michonne, while uncontrollably smiling, chuckling and slightly moaning out of the enjoyment of Rick's kisses and the warmth both Rick and the blanket gave to her, curled herself tightly against of Rick's body and grabbed with her own hand from Rick's hand that their fingers went between of each others. Michonne even turned her head and eventually herself around that she could look at Rick's eyes while curling against his warm form.

Soon, they both were like in the sleeping bag as they were completely wrapped inside of the blankets, only their heads were still on seen.

"Comforting?" He asked with the smile as he looked at the eyes of the woman he loved.

"You bet it is. Nothing gets in and nothing gets out," Michonne answered with the warm smile.

"No more concerns or fear of losing me?"

Michonne went a briefly silent and looked briefly to elsewhere. The expression of sadness visited on her face as she remembered what happened earlier today back in the carnival. However, she wiped those past memories out of her mind because Rick Grimes, her Rick, her precious treasure, even her king of Alexandria, was still alive, still with the living and with her right in her arms at the moment, alive and well, safe and sound. These thoughts Michonne replaced with her concerns and her fear of losing Rick one day.

"Maybe a little, but not now when you're in my safety arms, no walker can take you away from me ever again," Michonne answered with the humorous but also with loving smile.

Both of them chuckled heartily at this.

Michonne then pulled her hand out of the blankets and wrapped it around of Rick's neck and pulled his head down, placing his lips against her own into loving and passionate kiss. They did not dared to depart their lips away from each others, unless they had to catch some breath for a while. They kept their passionate kissing of each others by passionately hunting each others lips with their own after Michonne had completely turned herself to him so that the skins of the front sides of their bare bodies were pressed against each others. They both, while enjoying of contact with each other and their body heats inside of around of them wrapped blankets, wrapped their legs around of each others and Michonne wrapped her arms around of Rick's neck, placing with one of her hands to the back of Rick's head, pressing her closer to herself to prevent him from departing his lips from hers. Rick had no intention to depart his lips from from Michonne's lips and he did the same thing as Michonne. He wrapped his right arms around of Michonne's waist, pulling her body closer and he placed his left hand to the back of Michonne's head and pressed her closer of himself.

They continued to make out in bed, kissing each others and rolling inside of the blankets, late into the night while the candles were still on.

But little did they suspect while they were lovingly embracing and kissing of each others in the bed inside of the house...

...that their a temporary camp inside of the abandoned house had been _detected_ from the candle-light from the covered windows and was now observed by the small group of thirteen dark figures, _armed figures_ , who were hidden in the bushes, behind of the trees and one of them up in the branch of a tree at some distance from the house, near the border of the house's yard area.

One of them, a late-teenager one who was wielding a sleeveless green military shirt, black pants, army's boots, black hood over his head and a blood-red bandana wrapped around of his head and under of his long black hair, was observing the house with the binoculars, looking for some movement in the windows or somekind of trap the inhabits of the house might have set for the trespassers to the porch or to anywhere else around of the house.

He saw nothing else, except the alarm bells at the foot of the porch stairs.

"Fools! That might fool those a _bominations_ but not us." The figure said as he removed the binoculars from his eyes and put them back to the binocular case, which was hanging on the belt on his left side, before he took Tri-Barreled Shotgun into his hands from hanging on his back.

Then one of them came to the next of the figure. Hispanic-American teenager girl, who had the very long black-purple hair, which two purple-headed, and freely hanging ponytails reached behind of her bare thighs. She was wielding cape-like blood-red hood - which she kept wrapped around of her due to the cold night. She also wielded the purple bikinis and black women's denim shorts and brown women's boots, leaving most of her upper body and her legs bare. As her weapon of choice, she wielded golden-black Colt Law Enforcement Model 6920 Carbine in her hands.

The woman looked at the teenager boy next to her and eyed his weapon of choice.

"Why you always choose the weapon with only a three single shots?" The girl asked with the teasing tone.

The teenager then turned back to the teenager girl.

"Because when I want to cause damage, I make sure that the damage caused by me is a huge." The figure responded before he turned back to observe the house.

"Jackie said that those two fools came here with the van, which seemed to be quite full filled with the stuff... and I bet that a quite interesting stuff, judging from its slow moving and a bit difficult to drive it." The teenager said to the teenager girl.

The teenager girl observed the house's yeard-area, seeing no any sight of the van.

"Then where those two fools put it on?" Teenager girl asked.

A teenager was thinking all of time the answer to this question as well while he observed the area of the house with his eyes... until they stopped to the closed doors of the garage.

Once a teenager realized the answer to a teenager girl's question, his head went hanging down on his shoulders as he slightly shook his head and chuckled, before he turned back to a teenager girl.

"You see that garage?" He asked as he pointed with his finger at the garage's doors.

"Those doors were not closed the last time we visited in this direction. They were open back then and left open, as well as the entire house was left at the mercy of time, with the few _abominations_ inside of the garage. I believe that those two fools are hidden their van in the garage... probably away from the eyes of some curious bandits. I bet that those two idiots have not taken into account the fact that the garage door locks are former and that the doors are too easy to open without any means of force and loud noises. And yet they're left the doors without a guard and apparently without the booby trap. meaning it is like served on a plate for anyone, like us," Teenager explained.

Teenager girl nodded to a teenager as she realized what a teenager meant.

"So, let's go get it," Teenager girl said.

A teenager nodded at her as an agreement

"And so we shall. Zoe, you take Jackie, Tom, Jerry, Mark, Sam and Max and go investigate the garage and if you find the van Jackie was talking about, retrieve it from the garage and take it to the Dog House, while me and the rest... well, we're gonna set for those two fools in the house a little... _surprise_ ," Teenager declared with the sinister-sounding tone.

Continues...

* * *

 **I hope that you guys liked this first chapter.**

 **Well, you probably saw that I added a little bit something new to the van scene between of Rick and Michonne after the carnival scene, but I just love to add something new and non-common to my favorite scenes.**

 **Until next time...** **See ya.**


	2. Chapter 2: In the Bed

**CHAPTER 2: IN THE BED.**

Without knowing about the incoming threat outside of the house, sweaty Rick and Michonne kept their loving doings with each others on the mattress in the living room, not willing to stop until the very last candle has been burned off.

However, they eventually decided to keep the brief pause in their make out in the mattress, but they still kept themselves wrapped inside of the blankets to keep themselves warm by pressing themselves against each others prevent the warmth from escaping from under of the blankets wrapped around of themselves.

Michonne lied beneath of Rick, who lied above of Michonne on his left elbow.

However, Rick had moved her left arm beneath of Michonne's head, so that Michonne was able to rest her head on it, and she was also holding from his left hand with her own right hand.

Rick had also lifted his own right hand to rest on Michonne's right arm.

They were lying there for a moment silently, until there appeared the slight look of uneasiness on Michonne's face and she was like she wanted to know something so badly.

Michonne eventually turned her head towards Rick and opened her mouth to say something.

"How did you do it?" She said.

Rick took immediately aback after Michonne asked the question from him, as he raised his own head above of hers and looked at Michinne into her eyes with slightly confused look on his face and eyes... noticing clearly the uneasiness in the eyes of the woman he loved.

"Excuse me...?" Was all what Rick could say, telling to Michonne that Rick did not either caught her question clearly or then he wasn't even ready before she had asked her question from Rick just like that with the hurry... without even calling his name at first before her question.

Michonne decided to ask again.

"How did you manage to survive out of the corner, after I saw with my very own eyes you getting yourself cornered from everywhere and nearly eaten by those walkers back in the carnival area? How did you managed to get out of such of life-threatening situation alive?" Michonne asked, reminding Rick about the nearly happened incident When they were getting guns from the zombified soldiers back in the carnival area.

Remembering that, Rick gently rested his head on Michonne's right shoulder, thinking for a moment that how he could answer satisfactorily to Michonne before he moved his head against her own head's right side so that his mouth was in the level of her hear.

Rick's warm breath released the pleasant chills to run along of Michonne's body and they both ended up to snuggle to each others

They were again for a moment quiet...

...until Rick eventually opened his mouth to speak.

"Has Glenn ever revealed to you how he managed to survived through of that stone quarry's massive walker herd before their massive invasion to Alexandria over two months ago?" Rick asked from Michonne, even though it emotionally and mentally hurt him to speak Glenn's name loud after what happened to him back in the woods.

Michinne noticed this clearly, even though Rick's head was behind of her right cheek and she reacted to it by lifting her right arm from the mattress and landed it comfortingly to the right cheeck of Rick's face to comfort him about it.

"No," Michonne answered.

"We were back then so busy to clean the entire Alexandria from all of that dirty and rather bloody mess those savage people (The Wolves) and that massive walker herd caused to us and yet we were so busy to rebuild all destruction Alexandria has suffered from it and yet having our serious troubles with the threat of the saviors before them taking over of Alexandria, that I have not had time to ask about it from him, before he died in the hands of that fucking monster!" Michonne added, angrily and bitterly cursing the one who's responsible for Glenn's brutal murder.

Rick noticed this as her muscles tightened from vengeful-like anger the Michinne felt towards Glenn's murderer.

And as a result, Rick allowed Michonne to have a little time to calm herself down and swallow her anger before he would be able to say more.

And after Michonne's muscles relaxed as a sigh that she had completely calmed down, Rick opened his mouth to speak.

"I assume that you were aware that when you were trapped into that pet shop as the herd was coming for you, Glenn and Nicholas departed from you when they were supposed to lit one house from that abandoned town into the fire in order to distract most of the herd to prevent them from reaching to Alexandria," Rick started, as he nuzzled with his own head Michonne's head.

Michonne nodded at this, as she remembered that day back in that abandoned town. That memory was mentally pungent as she remembered that they had lost in that town most of their group to the walkers while trying to get back to Alexandria, especially Annie, who was buried and devoured alive under the herd shortly after their escape from the pet shop and David, who was trapped behind of a gate and was brutally pressed against the gate's barrels and mauled by the herd of walkers.

Seeing David getting brutally killed – even though he had already got the life-threatening bite from the walker before the arrival to the town – had left her saddened, because he seemed to be good guy and honorable husband for his wife waiting back in Alexandria for his return, one of the purely good people which were not many in the world like this and which would have deserved to live longer.

Michonne also remembered Glenn saying back then that he will signal to Michonne either with the smoke or then with the flare gun if he and Nicholas were successful on their mission...

...but she didn't saw on that day from the direction of the town any shot from the flare gun nor the smoke in the air, which had told her back then that both Glenn and Nicholas had failed their mission and that they were both dead.

Until it was revealed to her during of the walker invasion and the final battle for Alexandria that Glenn was still alive, even though she didn't still know that how.

"Well, when Glenn and Nicholas had found out that the building they were supposed to lit into fire had already been burned down, and that there was the walkers which began to swarm from every corner, from every alley and from every route of the town, Glenn put his full faith on Nicholas because he had visited in the very same place earlier and that he was familiar with that town. Meaning that he was probably their best chance to find the way out of there before they get buried under the upcoming herd of the walkers."

"But, however, Nicholas had paralyzed after seeing the walkers coming while Glenn was desperately urging Nicholas to find their way out of the situation. Glenn had told me after the walker invasion that he had seen Nicholas getting paralyzed with fear more than often in every time when they had lost someone to the walkers during of their trip through the woods and that abandoned town while trying to get back to Alexandria."

"And yet he had paralyzed the fear again as the herds of walkers began to swarm towards them from every corner of the town, surrounding them and cutting all escape routes from them. It had also drove him with the panicking hurry to lead both of them to an alley, which was blocked with the fence, behind of which was more walkers and the massive herd was following right behind of them."

"Glenn and Nicholas tried to fight them off and get away from the alley before it's completely overrun by the walked by escaping through of the nearby staircase, but the way was blocked with the heavy object and there was too many walkers to be gunned down and they eventually get themselves dangerously cornered."

As Rick kept telling Glenn's narrow survival story, Michonne slowly began to settle down on her back to the mattress so that she was able to look at Rick into his eyes, but kept her head resting on Rick's left arm, at the same time as she wrapped her arms around of Rick. And as an result, Rick wrapped his right arm around of Michonne, pulling with his hand more blankets around of themselves, pressing them closer and against of each others.

"Glenn and Nicholas were forced to climb on a dumpster as the herd surrounded them from everywhere, leaving them with no chances to escape anywhere from such of situation. And it was then when while the walkers were clawing at their feet, Nicholas had once again paralyzed with fear and desperate as he stared in horror the horde, all of those from everywhere reaching dead hands, all those snapping dead jaws and all of those blind lust for the living flesh in their eyes, something eventually had snapped inside of Nicholas which drove him to commit suicide with the gunshot into his head. Glenn was then knocked into the herd by Nicholas' falling corpse and after that we all believed him to be dead."

After hearing that in what kind of situation Glenn was after they went into the separate ways back in the town, Michonne's eyes widened with unbelief that Glenn actually survived from such of life-threatening situation that she almost sat up from the mattress.

"Glenn ended up with Nicholas in such a situation without any chance of survival nor way out of there, and yet he still lived with us until the night when he was murdered by Negan?" Michonne said in disbelief.

Even though she had went through the even worst situations with Rick and the others before the walker invasion, Michonne was more than just sure of the fact that even the longer lived and much experienced survivors like herself and her group long before even arrival to Alexandria Safe-Zone would never survive through the such of herd like the one they tried to lead far away from Alexandria but ended up to cut down the half or most of the herd within the walls of Alexandria with the help of the alexandrians within the ine night.

Michonne revealed her beliefs to Rick, who nodded as agreement.

"Well, has proved our beliefs wrong and Glenn has also proved many times over that he always has a thing or two to survive out of the most desperate situation alive," Rick stated.

"But what it has to do with your narrow survival from the such of desperate situation which nearly cost you your life?" Michonne asked again as she lied down on her side right side while looking at Rick's eyes.

Rick chuckled a bit before he turned his eyes back at Michonne and kept telling the story.

"Well, Glenn told me and Maggie that luckily for him, he had landed beneath of Nicholas dead body after he had committed suicide on himself and dragged Glenn with his body into the herd. The walkers and thus they began to devour Nicholas dead body while Glenn used it as his final advantage and crawled from beneath of Nicholas Body to beneath of a dumpster away from the walker's reach and he had stayed under of it the whole night until the walkers had lost their interest and wandered away from the alley," Rick explained.

"Well, I had to admit that I've learned something from Glenn during of our time together since our first meet in Atlanta. I kind of used the same technique to avoid getting eaten by the walkers back in the carnival area, when I fell from that Ferris wheel after I failed to shoot down that deer I wanted to replace with one you lost to the saviors."

Michonne created a questionable look on her face. With the such of expression on her face and without the words, Michonne demanded the answer from Rick to his narrow avoidance of getting nearly torn apart by the walkers.

"When I crawled away from the walkers, accidentally getting myself into the trap and I ran out of ammo, the same deer I tried to shoot happened to by the accident ran pass of me as it tried to itself get away from the upcoming herd. And when the walkers were too close of me, through of my instincts I grabbed from one of the escaping deer's hind legs in order to sacrifice it to the walkers like I sacrificed out pigs to the walkers to prevent them from knocking down the fence of the prison after they were attracted by the gunshots in the chaos that overcame Cell Block D if you remember that... so I snapped that deer's hind leg to prevent it from escaping from the walkers and I left it to distracted the walkers while I sneaked away from the walker's reach into the carnival ride to cover," Rick explained.

Michonne kept listening Rick's own narrow survival story, which sounded quite identical with Glenn's own narrow survival story during of the pre-walker invasion to Alexandria.

She even allowed the slight chuckle to escape from her lips as Rick claimed that he had indeed learned something about the survival to survive from such of life-threatening walker-situations from Glenn himself since Atlanta.

"So that's how you survived? Using Glenn's own technique to get out of the bad situation by sacrificing someone's else's life just like that?" Michonne said.

Rick nodded, but he also shook his head half-negatively to Michonne's claim about "sacrificing someone's else's life to save his own." That claim reminded him about the moment when Glenn told him about how Nicholas had selfishly and cowardly sacrificed Noah and three-four other alexandrians before his group's arrival to the walkers to save his own skin.

At least Glenn didn't survive from his own desperate situation back then by sacrificing someone else to save his own skin, but it happened by the accident and through of Nicholas' committed suicide.

"Well, I admit that I sacrificed only one deer to the walkers to survive out of the situation, but it is much different with the living people," Rick claimed.

"Well... speaking of which, I'm not myself completely pure in that case, because I also have left some people behind during of my time, though without the selfish reasons like Nicholas did with Noah." Rick added.

"Like you did with Merle. I heard from him himself the first time we met, when I was brought to Woodbury with Andrea by him, that you cuffed him to the rooftop back in Atlanta and you left him behind when the building from where you were taking refuge was overrun and he was forced to cut off his own hand to get away," Michonne said, reminding Rick about his first days of the apocalypse.

Rick didn't deny this in front of Michonne.

"I did. I indeed cuffed him to the rooftop of Atlanta. As a cop, ex-cop, back then, I was supposed to keep him in under control when he got too violent with the other group members, not to leave him chained to the rooftop like an animal at the mercy of the walkers. It all happened too fast. We had to get out of there quick as possible as the building got overrun by the walkers. Besides, I left my keys to the cuffs into the hands of one of our group member named T-Dog, who accidentally lost the keys and forced us to leave him behind. We came back to pick him up, but he was gone," Rick honestly explained before he went for a moment silent as he remembered well what he (indirectly through of T-Dog) had done to Merle during of his first days of apocalypse, after he was saved from the tank surrounded by the walkers by Glenn and met for the first time Glenn, Andrea, T-Dog, Jacqui, Morales... and especially Merle back in Atlanta.

Now almost everyone from the original group, with the exception of Daryl and Carol, were gone... But over time the dead people were replaced by new people of whom he had to take care of like the family members with his life.

Rick then opened his mouth to continue.

"There's more people I've left behind than just Merle, one of them was the man called Jim from the Atlanta camp. He was rather unsociable and mentally stressed over his wife and his children being killed by the walkers in Atlanta when this all started and him being the only survival due to the walkers focusing to eating of his family. We left him behind at his own request after he had got the bite from the walker during the walkers attack to the camp at night and there was nothing what we were able to do for him. We left him behind, with the request to allow him to reanimate," Rick explained.

"There was another fellow survivor from the same camp. Her name was Jacqui. She died at peace with the man called Edwin Jenner, the scientist of the Center for Disease Control, who attempted to find a cure to stop the outbreak when all of this began and he was the one who's responsible of finding out that we're all carriers of the outbreak virus. He was extremely well aware of the utter horrors and he strongly believed that staying alive in this utter world was pointless as a painful death was inevitable. So he trapped all of us inside of the Center for Disease Control building and set the building to explode with all of us, including himself, inside of the building in the attempt of commit mass suicide and offering us "easier" escape route to avoid the the horrible and painful way to die with the chance of much more painless way to die. The situation was tense, and some of us, especially Daryl and Shane, even tried to kill him, which would not have helped the situation at all. However, we were barely able to convince him to change his mind to let all of us out of there and let us out to continue the fight for survival by our own way. However, Jacqui wasn't willing to suffer the same fate that Jim and Amy, Andrea's sister, did because of the walkers and she decided to stay behind to wait for the death. So we reluctantly left her behind to die in the following explosion at her own decision with Dr. Edwin."

"Then there was the girl named Sophia, Carol's daughter. After Jacqui, we were on the road until we ended up to the highway where the way was blocked by dozens of abandoned cars. There, we encountered the large herd of the walkers, which forced us to went into hide under the cars until the herd has passed through. When all seemed clear, Sophia came out from her hide, but ended up to giving the unwanted attention of two walkers who were still passing through. Terrified, Sophia ran away the highway and into the nearby woods, the walkers on her tail. I went after her and found her, but I urged her to stay near of the creek while I distracted and killed the walkers. But when I and the others came back to pick her up, she was nowhere to be found."

"Before and after we arrived to Hersel's farm and met Maggie, Hersel, Beth and the rest of their neighbors, we sent out multiple search parties into the woods to find her, to no avail. We were also forced to leave the highway after Carl was accidentally shot by Otis, one of Hersel's neighbors, we left a message behind on a car windscreen in case Sophia returns to the highway."

"After day-to-day explorations, we eventually found her, but we found out that she had already been bitten by the walkers and she had reanimated. And when we found her, I shot a reanimated Sophia in the head, ending her suffering. But even though it has been a long time, I still blame myself for leaving her behind and on her own without the skills and experience of survival just like that."

"Then there was a man called Andrew, the prisoner who lived in the prison with the other survived prisoners when we arrived to the prison the first time. With the exception of the other three more kind prisoners, Axel, Oscar and Big Tiny, he and the other guy of their little gang named Tomas attempted murder me when we were cleaning the prison's inside from the walkers. After I killed Tomas for trying to kill me twice, Andrew attempted to escape from the scene and I went after him. He ended up by running into a courtyard filled with walkers. He attempted to re-enter the prison, but I closed the entry gate to prevent him from doing so. It was the first time in my life since all of this began when I actually left someone behind, but the main reason was the safety of my group than my own skin. Maybe I should have killed him directly than left him to the walkers, and as an result, he returned alive, let the small herd inside of the prison and caused the deaths of two members of our group, including my late wife Lori."

"And finally, I assume that you probably remember that poor hitchhiker guy we passed on our way to King County, Georgia to search for the weapons and ammo for the war with the Governor and Woodbury. He was alone, lost and in need of help. He pleaded us to stop and help him but we just ignored his pleads and kept moving... twice... and we only took his backpack with us during of our trip back to the prison and when we found him dead. He did seemed an innocent guy, but I assume that a main reason for it could be that we were in the war and that we could not take the risk with outsiders or then we did not want to drag him into the mess into which we had already dragged ourselves into. I guess that the reason which I mentioned first is a much more rational explanation for leaving him behind," Rick explained.

Michonne listened carefully all of time Rick while he was telling shortly about the people he had left behind alternating for many reasons.

While listening Rick, Michonne knew that she herself wasn't the better person as well as Rick with leaving people behind to die back in the past, remembering how coldly she had left her now-dead boyfriend and his friend to die out of pure bitterness and hatred after the camp they had taken refuge in the beginning of everything was overrun by the walkers and both of them had been high on drugs, causing them to be unable to fight, which resulted her three year old son Andre being devoured by walkers and both of them becoming bitten.

Michonne also remembered how she had amputated their arms and jaws and chained them like the animals after they had reanimate and how she had dragged them closely behind her at all times, using them as her shields to cover her scent and avoid being detected by walkers.

And because of her son's tragic death, she had became the prisoner of her own self for a long time, while her outside form was slowly becoming day after day more and more from outside hardened, self-excluded, even almost emotionless and aimlessly wandering lonely and silent warrior, nearly sealing her mentally broken true person inside of her physically and mentally hardened form forever... until she met Andrea, Rick, Carl and Judith, whose close friendship and the Grimes family's shown family love for her released her true person from her mental prison. Nowadays she was more open and happy, and now she had a completely new family she had received from Rick, Carl and Judith, whom she was more than just willing to protect with her own life as their family's official member.

Suddenly, the slight smile appeared on Rick's lips.

"Well, I just realized that I nearly left one behind yesterday on the previous day," Rick said.

Michonne created questionable look on her face after she heard what Rick did just say. She was also slightly confused about Rick's claim, because the only people around of here were only she and Rick, none else, not even hitchhiker during of their supply run in the woods and countryside searching for the weapons.

"Who you're talking about, Rick?" Michonne said with the confused tone.

Rick let out another chuckle, as he turned his head towards Michonne.

"I'm talking about you, Michonne," Rick calmly responded.

Michonne created another confused and questionable look on her face after Rick's confusing respond to her question.

She didn't remember when Rick nearly would have left her behind.

Rick saw her confusion and opened his mouth to explain his answer.

" Well, after I had distracted those walkers with the deer, I tried to sneak away from the scene behind of the carnival ride to rotate them in another way and get to you, while the walkers were focused on feasting with that deer, even though I a bit regret of leaving it as cripple at the mercy of the walkers instead of handing it over to you, until I suddenly saw you standing there right next to the feasting herd, in the paralyzed state, your sword had dropped out of your hands while you were staring at the walkers feasting with the deer, and yet you nearly allowed the walkers to surround you and devour you. It forced me to jump out from the hide back to the scene, to prevent you from getting yourself killed," Rick said, lastly with a bit scolding tone to Michonne.

Michonne playfully took this as an offense, even though her own instincts did not allow her to deal what she had witnessed with her very own eyes nearly happening in the carnival area with any kind of jest.

"Rick Grimes, know this that I was going to help you put of such of situation, and know also this that I was unaware of your narrow survival from such of bad situation. I just saw the walkers feasting with the fresh flesh and intestines, which I though was yours until I saw that it was the deer torn into pieces," Michonne said back with the playful scold.

"Well, you were the first one who dropped the sword in the bad time in middle of from everywhere approaching walkers. You kind of forced Rick Grimes appeared out of nowhere at the wild western's hero style to rescue his loved one from the certain peril," Rick jokingly said back to Michonne.

Michonne responded to this with the chuckle and the wide grin.

"Well, my hero of the wild west gets himself always in trouble whenever my eyes turns away from you. I can't take you anywhere, Rick," Michonne said with the playful grin.

"You should not say something like that what can one day you'll regret. As you yourself said, even a long-lived and well-experienced survivor like you will one day find herself from the trouble out of which she cannot escape on her own," Rick said humorously.

Michonne let out another chuckle out of her mouth.

"Neither a long-lived and well-experienced leader like you," Michonne said back.

"Little Rick Grimes need to leard to take care of himself a much more carefully or else he needs someone, with the strong manners of caring mother, to look after him so he cannot get himself into any kind of trouble again," Michonne joked playfully with the humorous grin on her face.

Rick chuckled at this as well, knowing that Michonne meant jokingly herself as a babysitter for Rick, before he finally moved over Michonne, gently pinned her down to the mattress and wrapped his arms around of her, as Michonne willingly lied down on her back to the mattress and placed both of her hands to the both sides of Rick's faces.

Both of them looked at each others with the loving smiles.

"Maybe I should do the same thing with the certain woman. To have someone certain man as a babysitter for the certain woman to make sure she doesn't get too much distracted from what happens around of her," Rick stated.

Michonne chuckled with the wide grin at Rick's claim.

"Are we both now each other's babysitters?"

Rick smiled warmly to her, as he lowered his head towards Michonne's face.

"Have not we always been?"

Both of them chuckled at each others, as Michonne wrapped her arms around of Rick's neck both pulling his head down and lifting her own head up in intention to press their lips together again into passionate kiss...

Suddenly, before their lips even had the time to touch each others...

Their attention was suddenly caught by suddenly through of the window flying bullet, which hit in the living room's wall hanging old family photo's glass surface.

"WHATTA HELL?!" Both of them exclaimed, before the hell was indeed released upon of them from outside.

* * *

 **Sorry guys, another** **cliffhanger...  
** **Rick and Michonne are under attack by those strange people, who had been stalked them from the woods.  
**

 **What's gonna happen next,** **we'll find out the next time.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya.**


	3. Chapter 3: Ambush

**CHAPTER 3: AMBUSH.**

As both of them were about to get on their feets...

There was unexpectedly heard the loud gunshots, mostly with the assault rifles like Colt M4A1 but also with the shotguns like Remington 870 Police Magnum... and even with the gun, which sounded like minigun... and the gunfire was targeted at the house's living room.

And when the firing began, the bullets started to fly through the house's living room's windows, destroying the windows and making the nearby wall, which took the multiple bullet hits, like emmental cheese... much to Rick and Michonne's surprise.

"WOAH! WHATTA HELL?!" Rick exclaimed badly surprised as he and Michonne quickly get down – even though they were already on the ground – to avoid the flying bullets.

During of the firing, one of the sudden attackers, who was probably carrying the rifle fitted with an M203 grenade launcher or more likely the grenade gun, fired the grenade through of the living room's window inside of the house.

The grenade flied over pinned Rick and Michonne and ended up to the house's kitchen.

"Holly shit! GET COVER AND COVER YOUR EARS, MICHONNE!" Rick loudly warned Michonne after he realized that what was the thing which a second ago flied over them.

Michonne did as Rick told her to do and both of them quickly moved out of under of their warm blankets and rushed to cover behind of another couch of the room. And once they were there, they quickly covered their ears before the following explosion.

The grenade eventually exploded inside of the house, destroying the entire kitchen completely and blowing the kitchen's two side walls in pieces off the house. The explosion also seriously destroyed the inside of the house and threw multiple dangerous wooden pieces outside and inside of the house.

But luckily the explosion didn't destroy the inside of the house so badly that it would have caused the whole house to collapse over Rick and Michonne and bury them alive under of the collapsed house.

The couch's backside was also torn by the rapidly flying wooden pieces threw everywhere by the loud explosion, but Rick and Michonne had survived without serious physical damage.

The shock wave of the explosion of the grenade had also turned the couch over that Michonne and Rick were left inside of the small space of between the floor and from the explosion turned couch's seating side, which had fell over Rick and Michonne, and it worked as a bit better shelter for them from the sharp pieces of wood and wooden furniture thrown by the explosion.

At least five minutes lasted firing before the grenade eventually stopped after the explosion started to fade away.

Both Rick and Michonne were momentarily but slightly deafened due to the loud explosion, which lasted at least five-ten seconds, until they were able to hear again.

And when they did, Rick and Michonne pushed the couch off them to its right position, after which, Rick dared to slightly peek over the couch to make sure none of these sudden attackers had come next to the living room's windows to see whether or not they had survived the explosion.

However, Rick didn't saw anyone at the windows.

Rick and Michonne took this as an advantage.

They quickly picked up their clothes from the floor and quickly dressed up into them.

And then, they grabbed to their weapons.

Michonne lifted her katana behind of her back and took her already loaded Mossberg 590, and she also took her Beretta 92FS close of her in case, while Rick wrapped around of his waist his belt, in which gun case his trusty Colt Python rested waiting for to get used once again, but Rick took now as his primary weapon Norinco Type 56.

After the weapons were on their hands, Rick and Michonne settled in to battle stations close to the living room window.

There was not firing, but they instead heard something scolding-like voices outside of the house.

"What the hell, man?! You really had to use the grenade launcher and you almost caused the whole goddamned house to collapse over of that stuff?! Whatta fuck is wrong with you?! Did you really believe that no one supposedly heard that BIG BUM?! There's those fucking abominations everywhere in the woods and the base of those goddamned fuckers is less than for a five miles away from here! Don't even think that those fucking arrogant "King of the World" pretending scum wouldn't come to check the reason of that explosion! If we get caught for this by them and once my dad finds out that what you did and will have to pay for it by handing over most of our stuff to these bullies, he will remove you from the tasks of supply runner and puts you into shovel work in the excrement room beneath of lavatory... AGAIN!" Someone said scolding someone, presumably right that one who fired the grenade inside of the house."UGH! I hate that work!" The scolded guy complained in disgust.

Their attackers had focused to the argument, good for Rick and Michonne.

Taking an advantage of the argument, Rick carefully peeked out through of the shattered window to see outside, and spotted that there was at least five people standing outside of the house's porch canopy, which was destroyed in the gunfire.

After five minutes, Rick moved away from the window back into his battle position.

"There's at least five guys. Two of them at ten and eleven o'clock, one at two o'clock and another two at twelve o'clock. Two on the left are armed with Colt M16A4 rifle and Remington 870 Police Magnum. One of the right is armed with the Colt M16. And two in the middle are armed with Heckler & Koch MP5A3 the last one, probably the leader, armed with the Tri-Barreled Shotgun," Rick informed.

Michonne looked unimpressed.

"Only five guys... one with the rifle fitted with grenade launcher? Does not seem difficult to handle them, unless that grenade was the last one one of those assholes just used," She said.

However, Rick seemed to be much concerned about the situation they were facing at the moment.

"You kidding? Most of those guys are dressed into the riot suits, and at least two of them are extra-armed with two grenade guns. One of them is carrying the large portable missile launcher on his back and one of them is using the minigun,"

Michonne's eyes widened in shock after hearing this.

"Wait! Did you just said, two grenade guns, missile launcher and the minigun?!" Michonne exclaimed in shock.

Rick nodded with the concerned tone.

"Yeah. One of them on the right is using the minigun in his hands instead of his Colt M16, which he's carrying on his back. That explains why the house's porch canopy is torn into pieces like that and why from the explosion survived walls are like emmental cheese. One secondly in the very left is carrying on his back the portable missile launcher loaded with the four missiles and the another one guy in the very left with the Colt M16A4 is possessing one of the grenade guns, which he's instead carrying on his back. And the guy, who's using Heckler & Koch MP5A3, is possessing another grenade gun in his another hand. And its barrel is smoking like with it had been recently fired," Rick informed.

"It would explain what was that recently inside of the house fired grenade," He added.

Michonne could not believe this.

"Oh, fuck! They're armored and they're playing with the such of toys," Michonne muttered, realizing that this wasn't gonna be easy.

"I think that there's probably a sixth guy, because the first shot came through of the side window and from the direction of the forest, not from the direction of the route. That means that there gotta be a sniper waiting for us," Rick added.

Michonne let out the loud snort out of disgust and frustration.

"UGH! Just like riot suits and dozens at a once killing weapons wouldn't already be enough, and now they have a fucking sniper hiding in the trees! Now, I hope that we also have riot suits and the helmets!"

Rick had to admit that he hoped exactly the same as Michonne.

They had at least localized six attackers, but they did not have a idea of Whether there were more people out there stalking them instead of six.

But even though they were heavily outnumbered in numbers and arms, Rick wasn't ready to go down without the fight

After all, he and his group had survived with the minor losses from the adversities with the many enemies they had encountered many times over, even though they'd been outnumbered in numbers and arms. They had already survived from the lunatic Governor and his armies of brainwashed people to Joe-named guy's gang, from the cannibalistic people of Terminus to the savage people calling themselves as wolves.

But now, they had up against them completely new kind of enemies they had ever encountered, not counting the saviors in.

"Who do you think they are? The saviors?" Michonne suddenly asked, just like reading Rick's minds.

Rick wasn't quite sure or then he didn't believed that were these guys the saviors or not, because the saviors did not seem to use riot suits and did not seem to have any of the weapons like the ones these people carried with them, meaning the DefTech 37mm grenade guns, missile launchers and miniguns, at least all those who had visited three times in Alexandria.

They indeed got a dynamite and Airtronic RPG-7, which Abraham had found earlier and which they took from Alexandria during of their very first visit, but not the weapons like these people used.

And from all the enemies they had encountered, only Woodbury and the Governor had used against them much serious weapons like Browning M2HB and M1919A4 machine guns during of Woodbury's final attack to the prison in addition of DefTech 37mm grenade guns.

Plus one tank which the Governor used as the weapon against them during of his very last attack, which ended up to the destruction of the Prison and to a huge massacre to the both sides.

"I don't think so. I've not seen the saviors wielding the riot suits or such of weapons like these guys do. And I think that those two saviors we crossed paths with, when we needed batteries for our walkie-talkie, are the only ones in this area." Rick answered calmly.

Michonne could not help but agree. They had crossed their path with only two saviors, but that does not mean that there are other communities here and therefore the bases of the saviors. These people who were stalking them from outside, might be just the bandits who had found their weapons and riot suits from some abandoned prison and from some abandoned military base.

They waited for some time that the firing from outside at the house could eventually restart, but even after fifteen-twenty minutes, there was not any single shot fired at them.

So Rick decided to carefully come out from his cover and peek outside through the window to check the situation.

But this time when he peeked out, much to his surprise, the sudden attackers were inexplicably disappeared from the front of the house.

"They're gone!" Rick exclaimed.

"What?!" Michonne exclaimed as well and jumped up on her feet, aiming with her Mossberg 590 outside.

Rick jumped on his feet as well, aiming with his Norinco Type 56 to outside.

They both were expecting those people coming out from behind of the porch's fence and opening their fire at them...

But none of them didn't come out from anywhere.

They waited for ten minutes something to happen.

And then Rick, suddenly jumped outside through of the window still aiming his rifle to outside.

He was suddenly stopped when Michonne out of reflexes grabbed from his right shoulder.

"Where the hell you're going, Rick?! We do not know are they still out there and are they still stalking us! Besides, what about that sniper in those trees?!" Michonne said firmly, not willing to let go from Rick's shoulder.

"There's two reasons," Rick responded.

"One; maybe... just maybe... We may be able to overcome this through more peaceful means than with armed means. Now that we have one enemy to handle, we do not need to any adversities with the another group with SUCH of toys these people are using. Maybe we can even negotiate with them, but we still need to be ready for everything," Rick responded.

However, Michonne wasn't satisfied to this answer.

"What makes you think about they're willing to negotiate with us after they just tried to kill us?! And who knows if they're still willing to kill us. Some of them can still open fire on you as soon as you step out of the window or showed yourself from behind of the corner... and not mention about the sniper hiding in the trees..." Michonne firmly protested.

Rick was briefly taken aback with that, because he knew himself that it wasn't eassy to even try to negotiate with the people who wanted them dead, especially with the people With overwhelming power in numbers and the guns.

However...

"Well, I do not know whether these people are willing to negotiate with us or not, but if they wanted to kill us, they would have just come in front of the windows and killed us immediately at close range when we were still in the bed. But instead they stayed outside of the porch and fired at the living room's windows and the wall over of us and the grenade, which was fired at the house, wasn't targeted to the living room... at least I guess so, because their leader happened to scold one of them for doing that," Rick explained.

Michonne was still unimpressed of that.

"That does not make me feel better after they just shot at us," She muttered

"Mine neither, but I found the opportunity and the chance even to try after I heard their leader mentioning something about the base less than five miles away from here. And judging from their leader's speech style and tone of voice how he thinks and speaks about those people he calls "King of the World pretending scum" and "arrogant bullies" on that base, it's not difficult to guess if they by accident have the same problem with Negan and his saviors like we have back in the Alexandria. The common enemy of the two communities gives us the opportunity to even try to negotiate with them and maybe form the alliance with them against the saviors," Rick explained.

"But still, like I said, we still need to be ready for everything," Rick added.

Michonne nodded at this.

But as Rick tried once again to step outside of the window, Michonne grabbed again from his left shoulder pulling him immediately back inside that he nearly fell on his back to the floor. Michonne wasn't either willing to let him go to the most certainly target of their missile and grenade launchers, not after his narrow survival back in the carnival area, or then she wasn't yet fully satisfied of Rick's answers despite her deep trust for him.

"And what about the second reason why you must go outside, despite of those fuckers stalking outside?"

After Rick quickly recovered from being unexpectedly pulled from his shoulder back to inside by Michonne, he lifted himself up and turned to Michonne to explain the second reason, which he realized he had forgot to explain to Michonne five-ten seconds ago before he had near-rashly stepped outside of the window.

"The second reason is, that they leader mentioned something about "stuff" when he scolded one of his men for nearly causing this house to collapse over the stuff inside. I'm sure that he meant our van in the garage full of the guns, ammo, the food and the other stuff we had found by scavenging and from the carnival area. I'm sure that that's why they suddenly disappeared from front of the porch. They went to the garage. And because of they having such of toys and the serious guns, I'm sure than not all of them fall to our walker trap guarding our van and our stuff in the garage. They might be able to kill them all and then steal the van with the staff we had found and gathered with the hard work. And if it ends up in the hands of those people and through of them to the saviors, our deal with Jadis and her junkyard people will be over. And I cannot allow that happen," Rick explained.

Michonne also realized this and nodded in agreement.

"Then we have to stop them before it's too late," She hurriedly suggested.

"And that's what were going to do, either with the peaceful or armed means," Rick said with the unanimous tone.

"They may have the riot suits protecting their upper body, their knees and legs but only their thighs seem to be vulnerable. Plus they seems to not have in their helmets the face shields or in the front of their faces, which makes their heads also vulnerable. Besides, the riot suits and the such of toys makes them arrogant, they can not expect resistance from those who are highly underdog in numbers and weapons, and that's our advantage against them. If we're gonna save our stuff and the guns, we have to surprise them, surround them from both of the sides and, if necessary, fire the warning shot to one of their thighs," Rick said, quickly and firmly forming the plan.

Rick then turned to Michonne and pointed the kitchen.

"Michonne, I want you to go around of the house through the kitchen and the backyard while I go around of the house through of front yard. I want you to go first so that you have a time to get into your position. And remember, we have the element of surprise as our advantage against them. So if in the kitchen is someone hiding in the ambush, knock him or her out but do not kill her or him, that we do not lose the element of surprise. Once you're behind of the corner of the wall where the doors of the garage are, I want you to stay in hide when I show myself up to them first and once I've got their full attention to me, you show up and shot the warning shot in the side of one of their thighs if they if they do not agree to negotiate," Rick advised.

Michonne nodded at this, but however...

"But what about their sniper hiding in the trees?" Michonne worriedly reminded.

Rick took once again aback. The sniper hidden in the trees could easily change the odds between them and these people. And because Rick didn't knew that from where the first shot came in the first place, the task of getting rid of an accurate shooter turns out to be difficult.

But... after Rick took fifteen minutes more to think, consider and improve his plan with its possible ricks and alternate aftermaths, plus the odds, their bests chances to solve this situation and their best advantages against them, through in his mind yet again.

And after a while, Rick got something in his mind.

"I think I got a backup plan."

* * *

Ten minutes later...

Rick, so carefully and quietly as he could, stepped outside through of the smashed window.

After he did so, he quickly aimed with his Norinco Type 56 to everywhere in case of the walkers or any sight of those people, before he went quickly hide behind of what was left from the collapsed porch, to wait someone had probably saw him and opened the fire at him.

No any single shots fired at him.

The way was clear, for now.

Rick then jumped over the porch fence, landing on his feet to the ground.

But once he did, Rick quickly squatted down to stay in the low level and in the hide.

Rick then started to sneak along the outside wall of the house, slowly and as quietly as he could, holding his loaded weapon in battle-ready position, aiming with it to front of him and keeping his finger close of the trigger and ready to fire in the sight of any unexpected and hostile activity against him.

He slowed his going a little bit behind of every corner he encountered and carefully peeked out of the corner to make sure that the way was clear and that he was still free to move forward.

Rick didn't encountered any kind of threat on his way towards the garage, and it was good sight for now.

Suddenly, the dark figure unexpectedly appeared from behind of the corner in front of Rick as he was moving a bit faster towards the corner.

The figure got Rick out of surprise and he reacted to it, remembering at the same time to stay quiet so that he and Michonne will not lose their advantage in the element of surprise against these people, by kicking the figure to the stomach out of reflexes.

Once the dark figure fell on it's back to the ground, Rick rushed to it, knelt down next to it and began to club the dark figure's head with the bow of his weapon.

Rick though that one strike was enough to knock this figure out, but it didn't.

The figure snarled at Rick as it was about to slowly get up from the ground and straightened its arm towards Rick to grab to him.

The familiar sounding snarl and the behavior of this figire told Rick that he had by accident run into the walker, and Rick reacted to this knowledge by clubbing the walker's head into mash, getting the walker's blood and the pieces of rotten flesh to his clothes.

"Shit!" Rick cursed after killing the walker and getting his clothes dirty in the process.

After the walker was completely dead, Rick wiped off most of the blood and the pieces of rotten flesh of his clothes, stood up on his feet and kept going towards the garage holding his weapon forward.

The doors of garage were behind of only one corner.

Rick stayed for a moment behind a corner, waiting for a moment as soon as garage doors were opened by these people.

And once he heard the sound of the opening doors, Rick jumped out of the corner, aiming with his Norinco Type 56 to everywhere, looking with his eyes the any hostile-looking figure moving in the night darkness.

But once he get to the garage, much to his surprise, there was none standing in the front of the doors of garage.

But Rick was far away from assuming that those people had just left like that and left him and Michonne alone... and less with the supposition that they had either went into hide behind of the doors of the garage or then they had already killed their, "watch dogs", stole their goods and closed the doors so that they would not raise any doubts until then when the owners of the van come to clean the garage from the walkers and check their van and then they would be far away with the stolen goods.

To make it sure that the doors are untouched, Rick walked front of the doors and quietly knocked his weapon's bow to the surface of the doors to catch the attention of the walkers wandering aimlessly inside of the garage.

He definitely did not want to check the status of the walker herd inside and the safety of his and Michonne's van by simply and carelessly opening the doors of the garage and letting the walkers out, thus falling the victim of his and Michonne's own settled "watch-dog" trap.

It did not took long when Rick heard a few walkers dead bodies pressing against the doors and the subdued snarling from inside, which allowed him to know that the doors, the walkers and their van was untouched.

Once Rick had made sure that their van was still inside and guarded by the walkers, Rick realized another strange thing.

Where was Michonne?

Rick was expecting Michonne standing in the hide behind of the corner, but immediately coming out of the behind of the corner after seeing him in front of the doors of the garage and nobody esle as they had suspected.

But she did not come out of the corner.

That was odd.

Anyone could have reached to this side of the house within a few minutes, more than five minutes if was supposed to sneak up silently on the other side of the house for ambush.

But now it took more than fifteen minutes and there was no ay sight of Michonne, even though Rick had sent her on the move less than five minutes before he himself stepped outside through of the window.

Rick decided to go to check that what was taking so long from Michonne as was about to pass the doors of garage...

...until Rick suddenly heard the silent sounds of steps and some grunts behind him, which sounded just like something or someone had just landed from the high above of him on his feet to the ground right behind of him.

"Oh, fuck!" Rick cursed and out of instincts he quickly turned around and aimed with his gun to behind of him, finding himself to be held in gunpoint by someone, who was standing behind of the handgun and holding the handgun right in front of his faces, as well as Rick was pointing with his own weapon to the stranger's faces.

Both of them stood where they were in silent for a while, until the stranger opened his mouth to speak.

"Greetings, asshole. we've been waiting for you" The figure said quite mockingly.

After the stranger had said that and as Rick was was about to shoot him immediately, he soon found his head being surrounded by the four gun barrels as four more strangers above of him and the first stranger jumped off the rooftop of the house to the ground around of him.

"Don't fucking move, or we'll make from your fucking skull and fucking brains the fucking emmental cheese!" Shouted one of the men, the guy with the green-brown blouse under of his riot suit's chest shield and with the brown hair and bears and who was carrying the missile launcher in his back.

One of them, the black-haired guy with the green military-cap, was even aiming his head with the DefTech 37mm grenade gun.

"You heard the man, dude! You better not make any sudden move, or then the next thing which the most certainly explodes next, is your fucking head, you fucking asshole!"

Rick, however, didn't pay the attention to the men or their threat.

In fact, Rick didn't pay any attention to these strangers. He just kept staring at the first stranger coldly and aiming his head with his gun.

The stranger took the pleasure of Rick's cold stare at him.

"What? Why you look at me like that? Is the look in your eyes the sign of anger or the surprise that the some fucking stupid guy with the assault rifle tried to ambush us but he got driven out of his hideout by the fierce firepower and then got himself ambushed instead? Just like dachshunds are trained to drive for their dear lives escaping badgers out of their own hideouts, only to be killed by the hunters," the first stranger said with the mocking tone.

"Awww, look at the poor little badger. Look at our little poor stupid badger who just got himself totally screwed up," the stranger said with the mocking gestures.

The others of the group reacted to this with the mocking laugh.

However, even surrounded by the guns and mocking laugh, Rick remained firm.

"Who are you and what do you want? You better to tell to me and quickly or else I am not the only one the death takes away tonight!" Rick said with the firm tone.

And because of that, the guy with the grenade gun nearly pushed hus gun's barrel inside of Rick's mouth and raised his voice more threatening.

"Shut the fuck up, fucker, or else I'll force you to swallow the grenade down of your fucking throat!" The guy threatened Rick, to which Rick reacted by pulling his Colt Python out and placing its barrel in middle of the guy's forehead.

"Favor to favor, your fucking grenade down of my throat but my bulled through of your fucking brains. Deal?" Rick sarcastically said.

"DEAL!" the guy snarled and was about to pull his gun's trigger and so was Rick about to do...

...until the very first stranger landed his hand on the grenade gun's barrel, forcing both of them to lift their fingers from the triggers and turn their eyes to the stranger.

"Derek! Put that gun away before you cabbage brained warmonger explode something else more than the small part of that house and that fucker's head!" The stranger sternly ordered the man holding the grenade gun, called by name Derek, without taking his gun away from the front of Rick's faces.

However, Derek didn't lower his grenade gun from Rick's head. He didn't even pay any attention to the guy who had just ordered him to lower his grenade gun down. He just kept pressing his weapon's wide barrel against Rick's cheek and starring at him menacingly.

"But Billy, I love to explode things with my grenade gun, especially those arrogant fuckers like this one!" Derek said back to the first stranger called Billy, now willing to lower his grenade gun but instead he fiercely pressed his its barrel against of Rick's right cheek.

Billy raised his voice out of annoyance of Derek's lack of obedience.

"Soon you'll get a chance to blow up a hundred of those fucks, but you'll not if you don't change your grenade gun to your Heckler & Koch MP5A3 RIGHT NOW, YOU BAD POOCH!"

As Derek still resisted against the direct order, Billy pulled out another handgun and placed it to the side of Derek's head.

"I'm not going to ask fourth time! You either lower your grenade gun and take instead your goddamed submachine gun or by the law of the Dog House set by my father you'll be executed as a disobedient rogue pooch right here and right now?! SO PUT. THAT. GODDAMNED. CANNON. DOWN. NOW!" Billy threatened with the stern tone.

The moment was tensed after Billy's threat to Derek.

Even though Derek was a still unwilling to low his grenade gun, and even fearless even under the gunpoint to which he didn't pay any attention. He just stared at rick with the look like he had knows Rick for so long and was holding the grudge against him for something for what he had the blind lust to kill him right now.

But however, Derek eventually gave up, lowered his grenade gun and put it back to hang on his back and took as the replacement his Heckler & Koch MP5A3, fiercely pressing its barrel fiercely against of Rick's cheek again.

In the favor, Rick put his Colt back to its case hanging on his belt and grabbed with both of his hands from his primary gun and kept aiming with it Billy's head.

After Derek finally, but just barely, obeyed Ben, Ben lowered his another handgun and placed it back to its case hanging on his belt and turned back to Rick, looking at him into his eyes which were still staring at him coldly.

However, during of the brief argument between of Billy-called and Derek-called guys, Rick suddenly recognized Billy's voice as the voice of the one of these people, who had a moment ago scolded one of them, probably Derek-called one, for blasting the half of the house.

"So, you gotta be their leader, right?" Rick assumed out loud.

Billy immediately pressed his handgun against in middle of Rick's forehead.

"None of your business, you fucker!"

"I don't even care, if you're leader of these people or not. Just answer to my question; what do you want?" Rick asked again.

Billy clearly saw that his nor his men threats they spitted out of their mouth upon of Rick, had little or not at all any effect to him, even being threatened at gunpoint, which a bit impressed Billy.

Billy eyed Rick for a while before he opened his mouth again to speak, not noticing that he was slowly lowering his gun down from Rick's face.

"Hmph, you're quite impressive, for one of them. You've already experienced our firepower and you've already saw our largely overwhelming toys, you got surrounded by the overwhelming numbers and guns and you're threatened to be killed... but you don't surrender, you don't lower your gun, you don't rise your hands up as the sight of surrendering, you don't fall on your knees, you don't plea for your pathetic life, you don't show any sigh of fear or desperation, you stare at me with the cold look of venom, you even seems to be ready to fight even though even one movement in that direction will bring the death upon you... that's a new for me, because usually, when one of your fuckers are alone, you usually began to plea on your kneels for your dear but highly miserable and fucking pathetic lives and beg us for not killing you. You might be a fucking big bullies in the armed groups but usually you're pathetic cowards all alone, except maybe the high-ranked one of your fucking people!" Billy shouted and raised his gun back in front of Rick's faces.

"I should kill you right here right now, if I did not need to know so badly that what you and your accursed people knows about our secret plans against you! Until then, I'll fucking kill you, so you'll not live to tell the tale for your fucking buddies back in your bases!"

However, Rick still remained firm in the front of the threats and gunpoint.

Rick knew that this Billy-guy and his men believed him to be one of Negan's high-ranked lieutenants or even the spy of the saviors, and that that these people had probably faced many times over the highly problematic and even awful situations with the saviors. The situations in the forms of being subjected under of the tyrannical rule of Negan and the saviors, being robbed and bullied by them, and even experienced the heavy losses of their own loved ones because of them, and for that reason they will not hesitate to kill every savior or anyone non-savior they caught with their eyes.

Rick knew that to persuading these people to negotiate with him wouldn't be easy, but he had to try as peacefully as possible.

"Tell me, what do you want from us?"

Billy spitted with scorn to Rick's shirt.

"I don't know and I don't fucking care why you're so interested to know what we want, you prick!" Billy angrily responded.

"But if you really want to know, then here you go! I want to **KILL** you! You've once again trespassed to our, **OUR** , territory, even though we had agreement that you do **NOT** trespass to our territory if we deliver half of our goods to you once in week! Well, you're the living proof that your fucking people can not be trusted in your fucking false promises. We are through of your fucking bastards! We will no longer give you anything that belongs to us! We no longer subject to you! We will make **YOU** to subject to **US** now! We'll make you respect us! We'll make you to **FEAR** our name! And what I want from you... I want everything what you have! **EVERYTHING!** Not fucking half, everything you got in your van! We're going to take all of it as a payment for everything what you and your fucking people had done to us! We're gonna take with all of your guns and the guns we have your fucking bases down with every last fucking prick of your people, until there's none of you left!"

"I'm gonna take your van, plus your guns, ammo, food and other goods! But taking them turns to be more difficult when the man, who has such of fucking guts that he doesn't fear the threats not being threatened with the gunpoint, is aiming my head with his own gun!" Billy explained.

"So, I demand you to lower your fucking guns, both of them, put them down nice and easily and get on your kneel!"

Now, Rick pressed his gun's barrel against Billy's forehead, under of his blood-red bandana. And in the favor, Billy pressed his own gun's barrel against Rick's forehead.

The rest of Billy's men also pressed their gun's barrels against Rick's head.

"I don't think so!" Rick said firmly back as he placed his finger at the trigger of his gun.

"Billy took a triumphant grin on his face, like knowing already that Rick was about to say something like that, but the grin was in Rick's eyes the sight of that he did have one more ace on the sleeve.

"Oh, but you will, prick. And if you don't... well, we'll make you to watch how that black bitch suffers," Billy said, pointing with his finger to behind of them, referring Rick to look behind of all of them.

Rick turned around...

...and saw that from behind of the corner was coming six armed people more.

And two-three muscular and hulking guys of them in the and with the masks were holding much to Rick's a terrible surprise Michonne as an hostage.

One of them in the black sleeveless shirt, green military pants and with the red mask had roughly grabbed Michonne from her jaws and was even pulling her head back, revealing her throat, by pulling from her hair. Another one with the black mask and green army waistcoat was roughly holding Michonne's arms behind of her back and he had wrapped his right muscular arm around of Michonne to keep her in place.

But even for two such of hulking and muscular guys, keeping Michonne in place wasn't easy task, because their rough and painful grasp on Michonne caused her to struggle hardily back, even though she was unable to get out of their grasp.

Michonne was also held with the gunpoint.

One of them, the hulky and obese one with the black ragged shirt, small jaw beard and red stocking cap, was guarding Michonne with a gunpoint, using as his primary weapon a minigun but he was also carrying the belt full of grenades and two loaded Airtronic RPG-7 rocket launchers.

And two others, more slender and taller ones, were dressed into the riot suits and one of them was holding Winchester Model 1897 shotgun and another one Colt M16A4.

In the next of Michonne and two guys holding her roughly in place was standing Hispanic-American teenager girl, who had half unwrapped her cape-like blood-red hood so that the right side of her half exposed body was seen, but she still kept most of her cape around of her due to coldness of the night.

She was carrying her Colt Law Enforcement Model 6920 Carbine in her back, but she had straightened her right arm out of her cape and was holding with it Michonne's katana.

And once they were in the place, the guys holding Michonne roughly in place removed one of their hands off her and pulled out the pistol and the knife. The red-masked guy kept his right arm tightly around of Michonne's jaw and placed with his left arm the pistol to the left side of her head, while the black-masked guy, after having tied Michonne's wrists together, held still Michonne in the place with his right arm still wrapped around of her and was holding the blue-handled knife's tip against Michonne's throat's left side, ready to push the blade into her throat.

Billy eyed the group, seeing that there was only six instead of seven he had sent ahead.

"Zoe, I sent with you six pack members and now you come back with only five pack members. Where's Sam?" Billy demanded to know.

Zoe-named teenager girl turned her angry look at still-struggling Michonne, and angrily placed her katana's tip blade on the right side of her throat.

"Ask from that bitch! Sam moved out of his ambush position a bit too earlier and he got his head clubbed into mash," Zoe angrily responded and moved Michonne's katana's tip under of Michonne's chin.

Rick looked helplessly as Zoe slowly moved Michonne's katana's tip's sharp side under of Michonne's chin, causing to her the small and slightly bleeding wound. Michonne gritted her teeth as she felt her own cold and sharp blade cutting her skin under of her chin, but she didn't let out any scream of pain except four couple of small gasps in pain like her own blade was strangling her and for a moment loosened its grip from around of her throat.

Seeing the woman he loved being treated like this angered Rick greatly.

"Hey, asshole!" Billy shouted, knocking the backside of Rick's head to get his attention.

Albeit reluctant, Rick turned back from Michonne to Billy, but raised also his weapon's barrel in front of Billy's face out of anger.

Which Billy clearly saw.

"I see that you clearly care about that pretty black girl, don't you fucker? And you got a _very, very, very_ pretty and even a hot girl. You know, before all of this shit began, I used to like the pretty black girls. Maybe you two have known each other for a long time before you went foolishly to seek protection from those pack of stupid emperor-playing fuckers and foolishly allowed that big emperor of the world pretending fucker with the bat to take her away from you. And what happened back there, prick? Huh? Did you eventually had enough of their ways and stole her back from that emperor of the world pretending fucker and ran away? Oh, that's not good. Definitely not fucking good for you... AND ESPECIALLY FOR US! That fucker usually do not like someone stealing his "wives" and running away just like that. And try to guess what will happen next! He'll send the people after you to take you back there, and he'll punish you. BOTH OF YOU, or maybe just you, you fucking asshole, by burning your fucking faces with the hot flatiron in front of everyone. Oh, yeah! I would love to see how that emperor-prick burns both sides of your faces for stealing one of his wives and running away with her, but if they find you and one of his wives in our territory, he will with the hundred percent believe that we were a part of it and he'll send his fucking people to terrorize us with who knows what they'll got into their school bully-like minds to greatly and annoyingly bother us to remind us that "who fucker is in charge?" Billy said.

"And for that reason in addition of trespassing to our territory, we will not allow you to return to your fucking buddies! WE WE'LL KILL YOU TWO! THEN ALL OF YOU!" Billy angrily shouted and pressed his gun's barrel again on Rick's forehead.

And the rest of them pressed their own weapons barrels against of Rick's and Michonne's head.

Rick quickly looked around.

The situation did not look good for them and the odds were greatly against them.

They were captured and held as hostages by the people, who certainly will not hesitate to kill them...

... and all because they wrongfully believed him and Michonne being part of the saviors due to their own miserable life under of the saviors, out of which they seemed wanted to desperately get away and be free from their tyrannical grasp. So negotiating with them would be much more difficult than he thought, even seemingly impossible.

So the only question was...

...WHAT NOW?

* * *

 **Third cliffhanger...**

 **Rick and Michonne are ambushed by the people, who believes them as part of the saviors and will not hesitate to kill them.  
**

 **What happens next** **, we'll find out the next time.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya.**


	4. Chapter 4: Element of Surprise

**CHAPTER 4: ELEMENT OF SURPRISE.**

Things did not look good for Rick and Michonne.

He was held in his place with the gunpoint from everywhere...

And Michonne was held as the hostage by them...

The odds were greatly against them.

As they were surrounded by the outnumbering group of these dangerously armed and – for the very good reason – very hostile people and one snipper waiting in the trees.

Rick still kept aiming with his weapon at Billy's head, and Billy in a favor kept his handgun aimed at Rick's head... both of them glared at each others eyes with the murderous glare.

The tensed silence laster at least less ten minutes, until Rick snapped out of it.

Rick realized that aiming and threatening each others with the gunpoints will not solve anything between of him and Michonne and Billy and his people.

Then Rick did something, which greatly surprised Billy and the others.

He unexpectedly removed the barrel of his Norinco Type 56 from front of Billy's face, lowered it down and eventually dropped. Rick also took, albeit a bit heavy heart, his Colt Python out of his case and drobbed it too to the ground. Only one thing which he left to hang on his belt, was his ax. And after he had dropped every weapon he had, with the exception of his ax, to the ground, Rick raised his hands up in the sign of surrounding and locked his eyes to Billy.

Billy looked at Rick dumbfounded and in confusion of Rick's behavior.

"What are you doing, fucker?" Billy asked, not taking the gun off from Rick's forehead.

"I surrender to you, So that I can negotiate with you without any hostile adversity with you," Rick answered.

"It's much more easier without aiming each others with the guns and threatening us with the false beliefs of yours," Rick added.

Billy looked at him with the suspicious look on his face, probably not believing any word that Rick is trying to feed to him with his mouth.

"Billy, we got company." One of Billy's men reported, as he pointed with his finger at the back yard's field and every one's eyes – except Michonne's due to her faces being in the rough grip of two hulking guys – turned to look at the yard field.

There was incoming the small group of walkers, being attracted by the big blast Derek fired with his grenade gun into the house and blasted part of it.

The walkers started to come from behind of both of the house's corners, both of the back yard's and front yard's. The walkers also started to emerge out of the forests surrounding the house... and snarling and growling, stretching out their hands and desperately from everything reaching and rapidly opening and squeezing fingers, they all started to slowly wander towards them.

The walkers seemed to be more than ten times over than them, and maybe even more...

...much to Billy's anger as he laid his look of venom towards Derek, which Derek noticed, much to the big boy's awkwardness.

"Whoops..." Derek awkwardly muttered and smiled nervously.

"More than just "whoops" you... you... you a one thousand and one night's pea-brain." Billy angrily scolded and out of his frustration, he nodded one of his men to aim with his gun at Rick before he delivered the fiery punch to Derek's faces, which was so hard punch that Derek lost one of his teeth and rapidly backed off against the house's wooden wall.

"I'm gonna discuss about this with you... later... in my father's presence." Billy angrily scolded Derek, who rubbed the sore spot in his haw and wiped off some blood.

Billy then turned to his walkie-talkie.

"Hogarth? It's Billy? We have a some unfinished business out here, so take a silencer into action and start to snipe those _abominations_ before they reaches to us. No need to call back, just do as I said, over." Billy said to his walkie-talkie.

As Billy was talking to his walkie-talkie and the rest of his men were preparing to defend themselves against upcoming walkers that they focus was elsewhere than in Rick, Rick quickly and secretly located the location in the tree's leaves from where Billy's weakly sounding voice in the other end of the contact with the walkie-talkie was coming out. And with the help of some walkers, which surrounded one of the nearby to the yard standing trees, staring up to the tree and desperately trying to reach with their upwards stretching dead hands to something interesting to them.

At least the location of their sniper had been found.

Billy then turned from his walkie-talkie to his men standing around of Zoe-called teenage girl in the red-hooded cape Michonne and her in the place holding guys.

"Jackie, Jerry, Mark and Zoe. You guys take the handguns with the silencers and knifes and secure our backs from those _abominations_. Remember, they're slow and keep coming one by one, so save your ammo and use more your knives, and use the guns only then when it's necessary. Understood?" Billy ordered.

With the names Jackie and Jerry called guys in the riot suits nodded and took their knives and one of them took Beretta 8000 Cougar and another one Heckler & Koch Mark 23 with the silencers into their hands.

Zoe ended up using Michonne's own katana to behead the walkers. She was clearly seen some samurai movies and maybe even practiced swordsmanship before the start of all this and her skills of swordsmanship seemed to greatly rival with Michonne's own skills.

Zoe killed with a few quick but controlled heads in half slashing strikes and couple stab-strikes into the heads with Michonne's katana five walkers within one less five seconds...

...not bad from her, Michonne though from aside, a bit offended that someone else woman with the such of skills rivaling with her own skills was using her own katana to kill five walkers within less five minutes.

The fat guy, called Mark, snorted out of annoyance. He was probably the violence-loving guy due to his weaponry forming out of Airtronic RPG-7 rocket launchers, minigun and the large chainsaw. But the fat guy eventually obeyed Bill, but took as his melee weapon the baseball bat, to which was attached the nails, which created the weapon like some short-off spiked club.

"Time to smash some fucking dead skulls. Shall we, Porcupine?" Mark said to his baseball bat, seemingly much to Billy's annoyance.

"Stop that, you fat idiot, and focus to secure our backs from those _abominations_ with your porcupine," Billy scolded, much to Mark's annoyance when he was called fat by Billy.

"Tom and Max, you guard this black bitch, and if she tries anything, blast her brains out of her fucking skull," Billy ordered his two hulking guys holding Michonne in place.

Both of them chuckled with the pleasure, that they eventually removed their weapons from Michonne's head and throat, but instead, both of then grabbed with one of their hands from Michonne's arms and pulled them roughly upwards, making Michonne to grit her teeth in pain. They then wrapped their muscular arms around of Michonne and one of them, the red masked one, wrapped his muscular arm around of Michonne's neck into the squeezing hold, causing Michonne to cough heavily...

...much to Rick's anger.

"Derek, Stuart, Buddy... and Grey. You secure my back against those _abominations_. And coming from the backyard. And remember, only with the silencer and the knives... no loud guns unless you wanna draw more of them out."

From these four, only Derek was a bit frustrated and annoyed by Billy's order to use only not-so-loud melee weapons and the handguns with the silencers. But unwilling to get another punch or the bullet into his skull from his leader, and more than just enough unwilling to get bit and eaten alive by those _abominations_ all over of them, there was nothing what Derek was able to do right now, except to obey his orders.

All the guys, who Billy ordered to cover their backs against walkers, formed the surrounding ring around of them and started kill the walkers one by one with the knives – Zoe using Michonne's katana and Mark smashing the walkers skulls with the spiked baseball bat - and firing only few bullets into the walkers heads.

Billy then turned back to Rick, holding him still with gunpoint.

"Alright, fucker. You wanted to negotiate with me, so then you better dictate the best reason why we cannot just shoot you and your pretty black bitch right here, right now, for so long as my very limited interest can last of your selfish lies," Billy threatened with the venom in his eyes and the clear distrust in his tone.

Rick nodded and opened his mouth to speak.

"Okay... Billy Bones..." Rick started, briefly mocking Billy with the name "Billy Bones" from the Treasure Island Book he had once read during of his childhood, provoking Billy, who was not at all pleased with his mocking nickname Rick just gave to him, to poke and press hard and somewhat painfully his handgun's barrel between of Rick's eyes.

"My name is BILLY SHADOW! Just Billy to you, motherfucker!" Billy threatened.

"Whatever! Go on!" Billy added, as he removed his gun's barrel off from Rick's forehead.

"Okay, at first... Billy Shadow... Its not nice to meet you." Rick started, while rubbing a bit the spot to where Billy had just poked.

"My name is Rick Grimes and the girl your Hulks are holding in place is Michonne, and before everything, me and her, we are not who you think we are. And judging the way you speak of us, I suppose you and your people are supposed to know a man called Negan, the leader of the group called The Saviors... "so-called" saviors. And I can clearly see that you and your people too have suffered from what they are doing to you for their own selfish gain... treats you like slaves or bullied school children and threats you with the death and killing in front of you one of yours if you do not give the half of your shit to him once in every week, which he claims to be _all his_ like he is indeed some kind of fucking emperor of the world. And yes, you're right. We two have knows each others a long time. I care for her. I love her. I care for her so much that I could even give my own life for her survival from this situation unharmed. But that doesn't give you reason to kill us thought as one of The Saviors that have ran away from them. We are not one of them and nobody calling himself either as savior or "Negan" is not coming for us. I and Michonne are coming from Alexandria Safe-Zone near Washington, where we live. It used to be the happy place for all lost and help-needing survivors to live, until it unfortunately fell under of The Saviors dictatorship rule and were forced to live like slaves and work hard and with the risk of our lives to get the stuff for them."

However, Billy seemed to be more than just unimpressed and even refusing to believe a word Rick had just explained to him, even though Rick used the serious tone in his explanation, filled by everything he and his people had suffered in the hands of The Saviors.

Rick, however, looked it the best to save his plans of revolution/war against the Saviors, to which they needs ammunition, lots of guns and allies to have enough in weaponry and numbers to stand against The Saviors.

Lately...

A couple dozen hilltoppers were volunteers to join them in the upcoming fight against the Saviors back in the Hilltop and are at the moment trained by Maggie, Sasha and Jesus in the Hilltop.

In the Kingdom had the small and organized army and lots of weapons, but their king Ezekiel had humbly refused their offer, as peace-loving man, fearing for his own people's safety and not willing to break their uneasy peace with the Saviors.

They had at least reached an agreement about joining their forces with the Junkyard people called the scavengers and led by Jadis... the guns in exchange of their alliance against the Saviors.

But because Billy and his men, despite their systematic order and heavy weaponry, seemed to be more than just unwilling to trust to the strangers on their territory, Rick decided to at first convince Billy and his men to open the gates of the walls of distrust and suspicion of theirs and get to know them before he was able of convincing them to join their forces with them against the Saviors, if the opportunity to finally get rid of them once and for all what the most thing they wanted of all.

"So says you, or then you're just trying to lie to us in front of our faces, you fucker." Billy snarled.

"And if I'm supposed to believe every word coming out of your wormtongue mouth, do you have any proof to convince to us that you two aren't one of them, for example with the reason why you two intrude into our territory, even though this house next to which were standing all together is just near of our territory's border."

Rick was quite impressed of how attentive these guys were about the area they call their territory, as he and his people were attentive about their own territory inside of their walls, even though these guys might live by hunting the other survivors trespassing on their territory.

"We do not have that kind of proof I assume you're expecting, such like the handgun with the engraving of the baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire in its handle, stolen from their armory, but at least I have the explanation for our unexpected trespassing in your territory. We two are here scavenging the food and supplies for the Saviors so that they leave us alone, for a while. We still have a long way to go home and we needed extra gas for the rest of our trip. So we stopped here for the night to scavenge some gas for our van, that's all." Rick explained.

However, Billy still was suspicious of Rick's honesty and kept aiming him with his gun.

Then, the wide grin appeared on his face.

"So says you... but let me tell something what you either did forget to tell to me or you tried to intentionally ignore the information you left without telling to me. What about a huge cargo of guns?" Billy asked darkly.

Rick was a bit dumbfounded by the realization that Billy actually knew about the guns they had found from the undead soldiers back in the carnival area, but how?

"Oh, I see that I just truck to the weakest spot of yours through of your lies. May I introduce you to my very good pal Jackie, my personal scout and third-in-command in my team," Billy mockingly said as he referred with his hand Jackie to come forward.

With the pleasure, Jackie removed his riot suit helmet, revealing himself Asian-American man with the black mohawk and with the vicious-looking dog tattoo – which mouth with the bloody fangs was tattooed around of his mouth – in his face.

"Jackie, my old pal, happened to earlier tonight to locate you two stopping in the corner but still inside of our territory's borders before he reported to us about your presence plus location, aaaaaaaand, he coincidentally happened to find out the huge cargo of weapon in your van as you took these guns out of your van before you "locked" it inside of the garage." Billy explained, as he landed his arm with the means of friendship over of Jackie's shoulder.

"Besides, do you happen to know that the guy who hides the information of the such of number of weapons and the intended use of them, can never be trusted. You also said that you two were scavenging the stuff for them in order to be left alone for a while, means that you were probably intent to hand them over to those fuckers and allow them to become more stronger by weaponry."

And then, unexpectedly, Billy punched Rick into the faces that he felt backwards...

...until he felt Michonne's katana's sharp tip touching his back, and the katana was held by Zoe, releasing the shivers to run along his back, as Zoe pushed with Michonne's katana Rick forward.

Rick turned back to Billy, rubbing his jaw with his hand.

"Listen, Rick... or more likely, prick. I don't trust you and I never believed a word coming out of your mouth. Not before and not after your, "fairytale" story about YOUR so-called story about your so-called problems with those emperors-playing fuckers. In my eyes and in the eyes of all of us you two are not even just their slaves of them, but rather minions, spies and spineless supplier of goods for them, nothing else!"

"And above all, you are intruders trespassing in our territory to deliver all of those guns and other goods, and probably also all information you have about us, our guns, our intent use for them and our plans for them to the saviors." Billy angrily said.

"And now, it is time for us to show you two fuckers that what the STREET DOGS do with the any intruders and any soldier or spy of the saviors, who dares to trespass into our territory!" Billy proudly declared loudly as he raised his left fist to the sky.

The other members of his group also raised one fist in up to the sky and they all shouted in unison "WROUH, WROUH, WROUH!" imitating the barking of dogs.

Billy quickly looked around of them, noticing that his people has managed to wipe out most of the walkers and that there was a few ones wondering towards them in the long distance away from them.

Now it was their chance to act before more walkers will appear to the scene.

"Tom and Max, drag the black bitch on her knees to the ground and the knife on her throat! We'll execute her first as a punishment for trespassing to our territory and for this fucking prick's lies! Jerry and Mark, open the garage and take the van out of there. I'll personally execute this asshole myself for lying in front of my face!" Billy ordered his people and aimed Rick into his face with his handgun and with the venomous murderous glow in his eyes.

Rick watched helplessly as Michonne was roughly and painfully dragged down on her knees by those hulking mask-guys, despite Michonne's best attempts to ignore the pain in these guys grasp and struggle back, as one of them prepared to pick the knife off the ground and prepared to slash Michonne's throat with it.

And that Jerry and Mark were attempt

Jerry and Mark also went together to the doors of the garage and prepared to lift the doors open, seemingly not knowing about the trap Rick and Michonne and set inside of there.

Rick turned immediately back to Billy.

"Billy, wait! You have to listen to me! I already told you, we two are not who you think we are! We are not part of the Saviors, not their spies nor their supplier of goods! I admit to you that I lef the guns we found out of my explanation but for the very good reason which you should listen and even consider! If you're reasonable enough as their leader, you should know that killing each others is not the solution to this tensed situation between of uf, and if you want this to proceed, then allow me explain to you my good enough reason why I didn't tell you about those guns and we can make a truce and even deal between us! Just don't hurt Michonne and don't have your men to open that garage because if you do... _YOU YOURSELF UNLEASH THE HELL UPON YOUR OWN MEN FROM TWO FRONTS AND AS AN RESULT, YOU AND YOUR MEN, YOU'LL BE ALL DEAD_!" Rick warned Billy with the dead-serious tone, with the threat-like warning and the venom in his voice.

However, his threat-like warning didn't impress Billy, but as an result, Billy turned the safety off from his gun and moved his finger over the trigger.

"Have a far more better threats for us, you fucking prick?! Because if you have, you better to say now, because the next and very last opportunity I will grant for you to show us your very last but hopefully impressive threat is three seconds after your pretty girlfriend's execution and three seconds before your own." Billy threatened.

"So, give me one now!"

Billy did not need to tell Rick twice, as he looked with the venom in his eyes into Billy's own eyes.

"Be reasonable, let Michonne go, and let me to explain my reason to you... _OR DON'T AND I WILL KILL YOU! ALL OF YOU! EVERY FUCKING PERSON OF YOUR GROUP! FINISHING WITH YOU!_ That's my oath for you If you eventually decide to choose the last option." Rick said with venom in his voice.

Billy only snorted in frustration.

"That sucks! Hopefully next one is far more better, fucker!" Billy said and forced Rick to turn around, so that he can witness with his very own eyes Michonne's upcoming cruel demise.

Billy then turned to his hulking and masked friends and signaled them to slash Michonne's throat.

"FOR STREET DOGS!" Billy bellowed with the loud voice.

"FOR STREET DOGS!" The other members of his group bellowed as well.

But when one of the masked men was about to slash Michonne's throat open, much to Rick's agony as he was forced by Billy to watch how the woman he loved so deeply in his heart, and when Jerry and Mark finally managed to lift the doors of the garage up...

...they met the very unexpected surprise behind of the garage's doors.

" _ABOMINATIONS!_ "

Before either of them had time to react by grabbing to their weapons and fire at the walkers emerging out from the garage, the walkers immediately attacked to Jerry and Mark with the numbers and pinned them down with the weight of their numbers while the rest of them poured out of the garage and approached the rest of the group, trying to reach to them with their stretched arms and in the blind the lust of blood and fresh flesh.

Because of his riot suit, in which Jerry had very, very few weak spots for the walkers to sunk their teeth, most of the walkers attacked with their teeth to Jerry's faces, eating his faces when in pain screaming Jerry was still alive.

Most of the walkers had herd around of Mark's body and they had pitch into him like the pack of swarming hyenas around of the fat zebra in African Savanna. The walkers dug with their undead hands nails Mark's stomach open and poured fresh flesh and guts into their mouths... and one zombified child walker even dived inside of Mark's stomach and began to feed with him from inside, much to Mark's agony as the big fat and slowly and painfully dying man screamed in pain, feeling himself being tore apart from inside.

Everyone, except Rick and Michonne, turned their full focus to their dying friends and out of the garage emerging and for them approaching walkers.

Billy was shocked and dumbfounded after realizing that garage was full of the walkers.

And the masked guys, they immediately removed the knives off Michonne's throat but wrapped their arms around of her – and one of them wrapped his arm around of Michonne's neck into squeezing hold, after which Michonne looked like she was coiled by the muscular constrictor snake – to keep her still in her place as they turned their surprised looks to out of the garage emerging walkers.

Rick and Michonne smiled at each others... their plan had worked... though it nearly cost them their lives.

Rick then turned to Billy.

"You made your decision, Billy..." Rick said.

And before Billy had time to react, Rick jumped up on his feet and delivered the fiery right hook to Billy's face, which knocked him to aside. And once Billy was out of the scene, Rick quickly grabbed both his handgun and his Tri-Barreled Shotgun, loaded with the one shot.

"HOLY SHIT!" Derek bellowed in shock as he, Stuart, Buddy and Grey turned around and saw that Rick was aiming them with their aside knocked leader's weapons.

As Jackie, Tom, Max and Zoe's focuses turned from Michonne to Rick, Michonne noticed her opportunity and kicked with her right leg to black-masked guy's right knee. This was followed by the loud snap, which told Michinne that she had kicked her capturers knee dislocated with her kick.

After feeling the kick to his knee and feeling that his had gone from dislocation, the black-masked guy bellowed in pain as he felt the massive pain wave running along his right leg and through of his body, that he let go of Michonne lost his balance and fell on his back, crying loudly in pain as he held his from in the middle dislocated leg.

This ended up to his miserable end, as the walkers began to swarm around of him. They pinned him down, buried him under of them and began to feast with his cripple and helpless body as the masked guy screamed and pleaded help.

And as this happen, Michonne sunk her teeth to the another red-masked guy's loosened arm around of her neck as the masked guy looked in shock his friend's cruel demise. And as he felt Michonne's teeth sinking into his arm, the masked guy screamed in pain and let go of Michonne, as he jumped on his feet, backed off from Michonne and held with his right hand his bleeding arm.

But as he backed off, with his focus on the bite wound from Michonne's teeth, he failed to notice that threee walkers attacked him from his right flank and all three sunk their teeth to his right arm. With the scream of pain, the masked man shook the walkers off from his arm with the one strong swing, before be grabbed to Michonne's Mossberg 590 and began to fire with it the walkers.

While his and Jackie's focus was elsewhere, Michonne jumped on her feet and rushed to Zoe, who was also firing at the approaching walkers.

But once she noticed Michonne coming right towards her, she reacted too late to it.

Michonne gave to her the quite hard head-butt, which knocked her unconscious and Zoe fell to the ground motionless.

Meanwhile, Buddy and Grey grabbed to their colt rifles in attempt to shoot Rick, but before they managed to pull their triggers, Rick quickly fired with Billy's handgun to their faces, killing both of them instantly.

Derek, after he had placed the riot helmet onto his head, tried to pitch into Rick, but before he managed to even reach Rick, Rick placed Billy's Tri-Barreled Shotgun beneath of his faces, forcing him to stop.

"Fucking filth!" Rick heard someone saying in the next of him and saw that the last guy, probably Stuart, was aiming with his Remington 870 Police Magnum at him and was about to shoot him.

Rick raised Billy's handgun, but he found out after couple "KLICKS" that it was empty.

Billy had probably nearly ran out of the ammo and he either didn't remembered to re-load his handgun again or then he assumed that he did not need much ammunition to pin Rick down.

Rick was unable to do anything else but just witness how he was about to get shot with by the gun with the shotgun, until suddenly he was suddenly shot multiple times by Michonne, who was using Zoe's Colt Law Enforcement Model 6920 Carbine.

Rick got startled a bit by the sudden firing, that out of his reflexes, he pulled the trigger of Billy's Tri-Barreled Shotgun and accidentally fired the gun's last shot through of Derek's mouth into his brains and through of the riot helmet from the backside of his head and helmet. The shot sent Derek to fly as very small distance away from his before he landed lifeless on his back to the ground.

Rick and Michonne paid and quick look at each others, and Rick quickly nodded at her as gratitude.

Suddenly, Michonne was under the sniper's fire, which forced Michonne to few times to throw herself to the ground, make a quick somersault in the ground and roll back on her feet, trying to find out that from where the firing was coming.

"There! Among the leaves of the tree surrounded by the walkers!" Rick informed to Michonne as he pointed with his finger at the tree which was surrounded by the walkers.

Michonne nodded and began to fire at the tree.

Rick rushed to the grenade gun, which had rolled away from Derek's hands after his death and was currently lying on the ground next to one of the dead guys Rick just shot in the face...

...or at least he believed so...

...because once he knelt down to pick up the grenade gun, one of these dead guys, the guy with the green-brown blouse under of his riot suit's chest shield and with the brown hair and beard, suddenly swung the knife at Rick in attempt to stab him to his stomach.

Rick, reacting quickly, jumped back on his feet and slightly backed off to avoid the knife, before Rick looked at the guy he seemingly killed as couple-four minutes ago, until the scratch in the right side of his riot helmet revealed to Rick that he had hurried in killing of these guys, who were trying to kill him but were delayed due to putting their helmets onto their heads, that he had no time to aim to the vulnerable spots like his faces.

Thinking quickly, Rick executed the fiery kick to the guy's faces, breaking his nose and kicking him back on his back to the ground.

And once this guy was again on the ground and about to get up, ignoring his broken and bleeding nose, Rick quickly knelt down next to him, picked up from the ground the rock and started to smash with it this guys head inside of his helmet, killing him after six heavy strikes with the rock.

Michonne kept meanwhile rapidly firing with Zoe's Colt Law Enforcement Model 6920 Carbine the sniper's tree, until she eventually ran out the ammo, but still nothing did fall from the tree after such of rapid firing.

Until...

"Hey!"

Michonne turned around to the direction of the shout and noticed, that Jackie and the red masked guy had almost finished with the walkers emerging from the garage, but while the last ones were approaching the red-masked guy, Jackie had turned his focus back to Michonne.

Michonne immediately charged towards Jackie, who turned his Colt M16A4 towards Michonne and pulled the trigger!

KLICK! KLICK! KLICK!

"FUCK!" Jackie cursed as he found out that he had ran out the ammo.

Frustrated, Jackie tried to pull out his handgun and fire with it at Michonne, but he never got the chance as Michonne charged at him and hammered him against the house's wall and whacked his head – which was covered with the riot suit – her weapons bow so many times that when she finally stopped, Jackie fell motionless on his knees and then completely to the ground... not killed, but rather unconscious.

Michionne considered the idea of breaking Jackie's neck with her guns bow when he was unconscious...

...until she was once again under of the sniper's fire.

Unexpected and badly surprising hits to the wall next to her, caught her off guard and caused her to back off so hurriedly, that he was tripped by the dead walker body and she fell on her back to the ground among of the dead walker bodies.

Rick noticed this, and in rage he grabbed to the grenade gun, aimed it ot the tree surrounded by the walkers and fired.

The grenade flied directly to the foot of the tree and exploded, tearing apart all the walkers around of the tree and severely damaged the tree's trunk and caused the tree to first slowly, then faster, started to fall over towards the woods, before the tree completely fell over to the ground into the huge pile of snapped branches and leaves... and, presumably, crushing the sniper hiding in the tree.

As Rick turned to Michonne when she was climbing back on her feet, but much to his horror he noticed...

"Michonne! Look out!"

When Michonne finally was back on her feet, she looked at first Rick and then to the direction to where Rick was pointing with his finger to warn her from something.

As Michonne looked at there, the noticed that the last guy on his feet, the red-masked guy, was charging at her with the furious and murderous glow in his eyes and Mark's large and in-on chainsaw in his arms.

Because of some still living walkers, the last masked guy had to pass them... through of the direction where Michonne's katana was lying... next to Zoe's unconscious body.

Noticing this and realizing that it was one of her very few chances to survive from this guy's attack, Michonne quickly rushed towards her sword to get it into her hands and kill the last guy with it.

And as the masked guy approached her, he raised the chainsaw in order to kill Michonne with it.

And as her swung it towards Michinne, Michonne quickly bowed down and leaped towards her sword, right and narrowly beneath of the chainsaw's blade as it flied over her. If Michonne would have continued running towards her sword by running upright, the chainsaw's blade would have apparently hit her waist and brutally cut her in half in front of Rick's eyes.

However, the chainsaw's blade cut off couple dreads from Michonne's hair.

Michonne did another somersault when she landed her back ahead to the ground and rolled on his second knee... and managed to grab from her sword's handle...

The masked guy roared in fury and frustration and raised the chainsaw above of his head in attempt to hit with it's going blade to Michonne and kill her once and for all...

But before he got the chance, he noticed Rick charging at him, firing with his trusty Colt Python at least four shots into the masked guy's chest.

But even though he got four mortal shot into his chest, the masked guy still attempted to kill Michonne. But as he tried to strike Michonne, Michonne unexpectedly jumped up on her feet, quickly towering her sword holding arms from down to up and unexpectedly and smoothly Michinne amputated his arms from his wrist.

The masked guy bellowed out of pain in the amputated ends of his bleeding arms, as he dropped the chainsaw to the ground with his amputated.

Then, with the out of nowhere newfound wave of rage, Michonne swung her sword and savagely sliced the masked guy's arms in half at the elbows cuts straight through his stomach open with her sword before she cut the deep cuts to his thighs, making the hulky guy cry loudly in pain as he fell on his knees to the ground in front of Michonne, as the massive cut in his stomach bleed profusely and his guts fell out of his stomach to the grass.

Witnessing this, Rick stopped charging and mentally prevent himself from interfering to this and allowed Michonne to do whatever she wanted to do, knowing or assuming that his and Michonne's own fates would have been as slow and painful as the one this masked guy was experiencing at the moment in the hands of Michonne.

Michonne draw her sword back, preparing herself to deliver the finishing off stab-strike to this last guy still on his feet and still alive, the sweaty, tightened and murderous look on her face.

The masked guy raised his head to look at Michonne for the last time.

"That'll do it," The masked guy said as his final words to Michonne.

Without the hesitation, Michonne pushed her sword through of the masked guy's heart, after which she quickly draw her sword off the guy's chest, swung it over her heart yet again and with the smooth swung she cuts the masked guy's throat, killing him.

After the masked guy fell on his stomach to the ground, and Michionne delivered the finishing off move by stabbing through of the guy's brains, though she believed that he was deserved to be left to reanimate.

After the battle was over and their ambushers were either dead or lying unconscious, Michonne snapped out of her murderous wave of rage and panted heavily out of the exhaustion... but also out of the shock as she looked down to the last guy she quite brutally and remorselessly murdered.

Although they had gained upper hand and defeated their ambushers/captors by the element of surprise in the form of their walker watch dogs in the garage protecting their van and the precious cargo, of which their captors by their luck didn't know anything... as they planned before coming out of the house...

...Michonne just realized that mutilating the last guy, she had just released the great pressures of her anger, the deep, vengeful and murderous anger what she felt towards the saviors at the moment, out of herself, which had harbored inside of her since Glenn's and Abraham's cold-blooded murder, loosing her hunted deer to Negan and finding all of their from Alexandria stolen mattresses burned from the side of the road after the saviors first shameless raid-like visit in Alexandria.

Realizing this, Michonne did not felt herself to be better person than the saviors, who mostly takes the great pleasure of threatening, bullying, taunting and killing the innocent survivors because of their own selfish gains.

Idea of being such of cold-blooded murderer out of anger towards the other bullies and murderers caused her to feel cold and sick.

She stood for a while in a catatonic state for a while, thinking herself as one of Negan's minions with not any remorse of her own action towards the innocent lives, even towards the young children, only the lust of murder or then the great pleasure of bullying the others.

Michonne then felt the hand, gently grabbing from her arm and gently turning her around.

"Are you alright?" He heard Rick's voice gently asking, as he placed his arm beneath of her chin and gently lifted it up, so that they were both able to look at herself into their eyes.

Michonne was not able to answer, but neither able to take his eyes off Rick's eyes. And as long as she looked at him in the eye, her expression on her faces slowly turned into like she was about the cry out of fear of giving into her vengeful and murderous anger towards Negan and the Saviors and become the similarly shameless and cold-blooded monster like the saviors already are... and much worse, to fall as the prisoner of herself once again... and cause the harm to all of those she loves as her family.

Because of this, she immediately leaned against Rick and wrapped his arms around of him, and in return, Rick wrapped his own arms around of Michonne into comforting embrace, during of which Michonne, trying to hold back her tears, dropped couple tears from her eyes to Rick's shirt.

Rick, like reading Michonne's mind and feelings, knew immediately that why Michonne was so upset and worried.

"It's okay. It's okay, Michonne. I know it sucks! Such of kill like the one you just did to that guy. And I know the reason to it and that how it feels afterwards. I really do, I really do," Rick whispered comfortingly, reminding himself all those times when he had released his own within himself harbored vengeful and sometimes quite cold-blooded murderous anger towards the some survivors he had either faced or killed.

For example...

Back in the prison, after his former wife's Lori's death in the walker attack to the prison, Rick remembered how overly physiologically he was filled with the deep sorrow and the anger that he, like Michonne did, fell as the prisoner of himself, becoming more and more aggressive and nearly unsociable towards the strangers and everyone else he loved too, all the time in his self-pity and in the grief of Lori's death wallowing person and mentally weak that he was both haunted, controlled and eventually easily manipulated by the guys like the Governor, or guided by his own hallucinations... especially Lori's ghost-like hallucinations, as her ghost-like figure was the reason which changed his mind of handing over Michonne to the Governor in exchange of with the manipulation falsely promised truce and peace between of the prison and Woodbury. Lori's ghost-like hallucination's continuous appearance when Rick was doing the wrong decision, along with slowly warming, getting to know and accepting the fellow mentally suffered and nearly socially outcasted fellow outcast like Michonne were the reasons which brought him back to his sane, especially his state's final right decision to allow the people of Woodbury's people to join them after the war with the Governor's after he massacred his own army and disappeared for over half of the year until the Prison's final stand and downfall.

Back then he had released all of his within himself in the short of time harbored hate towards the Governor by attacking him from the flank and whacking his faces with his fists after he had refused/ignored Rick's terms for peace between of his people and the Governor's new heavily armed army and cold-bloodily executed/slaughtered Hershel in front of the eyes of all of them. Without Michonne's interference, that breakdown of mine and attempt to avenge Hershel's - plus Axel's, Merle's and Andrea's deaths in his hands - nearly cost me my life.

Back on that night before arriving to Terminus when they were ambushed by that Joe-named guy's group and one of them was about to rape Carl in front of him and Michonne as they were held down with the gunpoint and he was beaten. Rick remembered how he had unleashed his murderous anger by brutally bitting to Joe's jugular, ripping it off and allowing him to die to loss of blood. And Rick remembered that after him, he had then moved from him towards Carl's from Joe's cold-blooded murder shocked and cowardly backing off raper.

Back in Gabriel's church, when he had released my anger again by brutally slaughtering ambushed and surrounded from the destruction of Terminus survived cannibals Gareth, as I promised, with the red-handled machete for trying to kill us for food and kidnapping Bob and amputating his leg.

Rick knew that it was never easy to hold back the own vengeful and, imperceptibly and even unintentionally appeared, the murderous hate back when it's harbored for a long enough within him- or herself towards the certain target of the pure hate.

Rick knew that even he had the troubles of prevent himself to release his own hatred upon Negan when he continually taunted him during of his first raid-like visit in Alexandria and with his plans to take Maggie away with him as his wife, but in the fear of him hurting anybody Rick loved and everyone he felt the great responsibility over, Rick had just barely managed to keep himself cool.

Their comforting embrace took some time until...

...they were suddenly interfered and badly surprised by the single gunshot, which hit directly to the ground, next to their feets.

Startled, Rick and Michonne broke away from each others and both of them raised their weapons up and prepared to defend themselves, as both of them looked at the direction from where the gunshot had came.

And after they saw that who had fired the shot at them, they realized much to their shock that this wasn't yet over.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Fourth cliffhanger...**

 **Rick and Michonne have beaten all their ambushers and captors, or have they?  
** **  
What will happen next to Rick and Michonne** **, we'll find out the next time.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya.**


	5. Chapter 5: Second ambush

**CHAPTER 5: ANOTHER AMBUSH**

After the very first shot which was fired close of their feets...

Rick and Michonne were immediately, much to their shock and surprise, caught by the massive gunfire, which following the very first shot emerging out from the forests bushes and between of the trees... AND WHICH WAS TARGETED AT THEM and this side wall of the house!

The gunfire was the mixed combination of rifles, sniper rifles, carbines, shotguns and submachine guns gunfire.

But to make the situation even worse as it was already, along with the heavy gunfire was also flying the few missiles and grenades, which mostly missed either Rick and Michonne or the house without even touching and severely damaging it, but some of them indeed hit to this side wall of the house and exploded, sending the sharp pieces of wood to fly everywhere and leaving the big devastating holes into the house's wall and corners.

And the house was also hammered by the heavier shots from the miniguns and even from the Browning M2HB guns, which caused the house to see like the hole cheese.

Because of the darkness of the night, it was difficult to say that how many of these new attackers were because most of them were in hide in the bushes, but Rick and Michonne were more than just sure that they were both in middle of the crossfire.

Both of them took quickly as many guns and they could and they get into the cover behind of the very first attackers bodies, using them as the fleshly shields against the bullets, but knowing very well and the body shields aren't very helpful against the missiles, grenades or the heavy hunfire of the miniguns or Browning M2HB.

After taking nearly all the very first attackers guns – including the couple grenade belts – Rick and Michonne started to fight back by firing with the colt rifles into the bushes, moving the colts from the side to another to make sure that they were firing into two-three directions at the same time.

Rick fired straight ahead and Michinne covered his left flack by firing to the bushes on their left side.

Both Rick and Michonne also changed the firing direction, firing to everywhere from where the gunfire was coming from.

They managed briefly to pin down their attackers, but to their resistance were immediately answered back by the heavy gunfire.

However, no matter how much and how rapidly they fired against their attackers, it seemed like that the number of these new attackers hiding in the bushes and behind of the treas did not decrease even though the attackers were, despite hiding in the bushes, right in front of them as a too easy targets for their own gunfire.

They probably had the riot suits, at least most of them, because there was to be heard at least a few, four or five, loud cry in pain like they were just shot to their more vulnerable places by their gunfire and instantly killed.

Still, Rick and Michonne were pinned down by the heavy gunfire.

Rick then spotted something, flying in the air and was about heading towards them.

Much to his shock, it was revealed to be activated grenade!

And because when it was too close that Rick and Michonne did not had time to run away from it...

...with the risk of his own life of being shot, Rick quickly grabbed to Winchester Model 1897 shotgun and, much to Michonne's surprise and shock, Rick jumped on his feet.

"Rick! What are you doing?!" Michonne cried, in fear of Rick getting the lethal shot from the enemy fire.

Rick had not time to answer, but instead, he prepares to swing the shotgun in his hands like the baseball bat as the flying grenade came closer.

Rick remembered well his childhood and his teenage years baseball games with his school's baseball team. He never was quite good as a batsman during of the baseball games, even though he only got a few hits just by mere luck. That's why after every lost game, Rick was called by his disappointed team-mates as the team's black sheep. And the bad atmosphere of the team was the main and only reason why Rick quit from the baseball team and started to study as the sheriff officer.

But this was the situation about the life and death.

And because towards him was flying the activated grenade...

...he got only one chance...

...and lots of luck to hit to the grenade.

Rick gathered all his focus to hit to the grenade, deeply hoping that he does not miss it.

And as the grenade was on the same level with his shoulders, Rick took the action and swung the shotgun's bow towards the grenade's next level...

...and, much to his surprise, he actually, maybe by the mere luck or completely successfully managed to hit the grenade!

The heavy firing from the bushes at them also paused for a while, probably due to the fact that as well as Rick and the hairbreadth situation realized Michonne did, also their attackers were as well as deeply stunned of this act that Rick actually managed to hit with the shotgun's bow to the flying and activated grenade and send it away from them...

...and back to their location, which they realized too late as the grenade dove into the bushes where some of the attackers were hiding.

The grenade exploded, tearing apart and killing probably seven guys from their attackers, maybe even more which was difficult to say, as the explosion threw three-five attackers out of the bushes to the yard field half-mutilated by the explosion.

Rick eyed the dark figures, lying motionless and lifeless on the ground without either one, two or without all of their limbs. Rick also noticed that they indeed had the riot suits, denying from him and Michonne nearly all chances to cause at them the heavy casualties in numbers with the firearms.

Rick quickly snapped out of his thoughts and remembering standing in the middle of the crossfire, he quickly get down to the cover behind of the corpse next to Michonne as their enemy opened the fire again.

"What the hell was that?!" Michonne scolded with both worried and angry tone about Rick nearly getting himself killed in the heavy gunfire.

"Trust me, I don't know me neither that what was that." Rick said before he grabbed to Derek's Heckler & Koch MP5A3, because he had already used his colt rifle's ammunation and he had not time tol load it again, and kept firing against their enemies... and so did Michonne, knowing that they had not time to discuss that recent foolish act of the man she loved.

More missiles flied over them and hit to the houde, heavily damaging the house and igniting the fires which lit up the courtyard area battlefield between of them, but not much.

Having enough of being pinned down by the heavy, Rick and Michonne grabbed together to the minigun in their possession and placed it carefully over one of the bodies like the heavy gun with the stirrups, holding it in still together and aiming at the attackers.

They eventually opened the fire with the minigun from the cover and carefully moved its direction from the side to another, hoping to cause to their enemies heavy casualties, because even the riot suits cannot hold back the minigun's rapid and brutally mutilating power of destruction.

However, to that move was answered by the missile attack, as they started to fire the missiles towards them...

...but none of them hit directly to their location. It was either because these guys were either poor users of the missile launchers and the rocket launchers or then it was because of their van, which was still inside of the garage and Michonne and Rick were covered right in the front of the doors of garage like in their own property wit htheir lives defending position.

However, it was mostly the house, which suffered the heavy damages behind of them.

Suddenly, one of the missiles unexpectedly flied and landed right in front of them with explosive consequences and the shockwave of the explosion threw the minigun out of their hands, even destroying it in the process, and also throwing from the gunfire mutilated corpses and Rick and Michonne roughly backwards to the ground...

...leaving them both briefly stunned from the explosion.

Rick recovered of two of them at first, shaking his head to have his consciousness back from such of blast, and thanking his luck that he still has his eyes at least, before she crawled under of their attackers heavy gunfire to Michonne, who lied on the ground nearly motionless and bruised as well as he was from such of blast.

"Michonne?! Are you alright?!" Rick asked from the woman he loved with the deeply worried tone.

Luckily, Michonne was just stunned and in the beginning of the recovery, as she slowly opened her eyes and, despite such of bad situation to which she and the man she loved had messed up, took the smile on her lips of seeing Rick in front of her eyes.

Rick sighed in relief.

And after Michonne had got some consciousness back, she was able to answer.

"I'm fine, Rick. I just need a bit time to recover." Michonne whispered.

Rick rubbed Michonne's left cheek and placed the quick kiss on her forehead... before he turned around and rushed to some guns To carry out Michonne's request by firing at their attackers and buy Michonne a more time to recover so that she could join later to fight.

Because Derek's Heckler & Koch MP5A3 had flew too far away from him and due to the heavy gunfire he had not time to retrieve it, Rick crawled towards his faithful Colt Python and Norinco Type 56.

However, Rick spotted that towards them was rushing at least seven attackers, firing at them with the submachine guns.

They probably thought that the blast had already killed both Rick and Michonne and that the way to the garage and to Rick's and Michonne's stuff-filled van was clear.

However, such of arrogant belief and foolish courage ended up to be their demise.

Ignoring the fact that these attackers may have the riot suits, Rick grabbed to Norinco Type 56 and aimed with it at their attackers.

Because of into the air towering smoke from the explosion spots, to where the missiles had hit and exploded, it was for the both sides hard to see each others through of the smoke and the darkness, but using the flashes in the barrels of their submachine guns as his advantage.

Rick opened the fire, and much to his surprise, at least four of these attackers got the multiple hits from his gun and fell mortally wounded to the ground. These guys probably did not had the riot suits but were dressed into the military pants, military waistcoats and to the black masks like those two macked guys, who were holding Michonne in still and who were eventually killed by her. But however, they weared upon their heads the riot helmets, probably to make their enemy to believe that they were wearing the chest armors too.

However, at least three of them reached to Rick.

Before Rick had time to react to this by firing at them, one of them kicked Norinco Type 56 out of his hands, and as Rick tried to stand up on his feet, the same attacker kicked him to the chest that Rick fell to the ground.

And the same attacker had the fire ax as his melee weapon, which the attacker raised over his head in intent to kill rick with one strike.

However, Rick quickly grabbed to his faithful Colt Python and aimed with it his attachers faces.

"Holy fu...!" Rick's ax-wielding attacker managed to say before Rick pulled the trigger and fired, sending the bullet through of the attackers mouth to his brains, and throwing the attacker roughly backwards, causing him to fall motionless on his back to the ground.

Rick quickly turned his Colt Pythin to another guy in his right side, holding FN FAL gun in his hands. Rick fired two shots into his leg, causing him to fall on one of his knees, crying in pain, that his head was hanging above of Rick's Colt Python holding hand.

Rick quickly turned his guns barrel to aim upright, that the last thing his second attacker saw, was the Colt Python's barrel, before Rick pulled the trigger and fired to the guy's forehead and into his brains.

The recently-killed guy fell over Rick's body.

Then the third and final attacker, using this as an advantage, rushed to Rick and aimed his AR-15 Variant at Rick to kill him, but thinking quickly, Rick spotted Beretta 92FS hanging in his killed man's belt's case and pulled it out from it, turning it towards his last attacker and fired.

However, the shot was made with hurry and the bullet just scratched the attacker's left shoulder, forcing him to drop his gun.

However, still taking the opportunity of killing Rick while his was under of his last guy's lifeless body, the attacker kicked Beretta 92FS off Rick's hand after the hand gun got jammed in middle of the second shot, before he knelt down next to Rick and began to angrily punch with his fists Rick's faces for several times over as a revenge, before he re-took his AR-15 Variant and prepared to crush Rick's head into mash with his gun's bow.

But before he managed to do it...

The guy suddenly cried loudly in pain, as his arms went limp and dropped down to motionlessly hang in his shoulders, as well as the guy's head after his arms, before the guy slowly fell over to the ground. And once he did, his upper body surprisingly rolled smoothly off from his lower body and legs, revealing the smooth and lethal cut through of his waist.

Rick followed the guy's death with his eyes, before he spotted Michonne standing behind of the guy, holding the plenty bleeding katana in her hands, revealing to Rick that Michonne had her time to recover from the stunning blast in front of their noses and that she had instantly get up after seeing Rick in life-threatening trouple, grabbed to her dropped katana from the ground, sneaked behind of the last attacker and cut him in half with her sword, saving Rick's life.

Rick thanked Michonne with the grateful nod as she kicked the Rick's killed guy's corpse off the man she loved, helped him on his knees – because they were still pinned down by the heavy gunfire – and handed over to him his Heckler & Koch MP5A3 so that they can keep firing against their current enemies.

They both then took cover from behind of another large guy's body and returned fire.

Suddenly, they heard loud and angry barking and growling coming right front of them.

That can't be a good thing.

And it was soon revealed to them that those omnious barkings and growlings were far away from good thing.

Their enemies had released THE DOGS, at least eight at first and immediately after them even more of them, the large and medium sized dog types from the hunting dogs, police dogs, guard dogs and so on, which angrily barking and growling charged at them in the killing intentions like the pack of wolves hunting down the old and weak moose.

Despite the ill-fated illumination the fires granted for them, Michonne noticed the attacking dogs clearly

"RICK, LOOK OUT! DOGS!" Michonne warned Rick loudly about the dogs.

But Rick had already saw them, without the hesitation Rick started to fire with Heckler & Koch MP5A3 at the dogs.

Michonne's firing was annoyingly and time wastingly halted, because she had already emptied her own colt rifle. And as the replacement, Michonne grabbed to Winchester Model 1897 shotgun, with which Rick had recently used to hit towards them flying grenade back to their attackers, and started to fire with it the dogs.

Rick managed to take down couple dogs by firing at them to their legs, and as a result the dogs fell yelping in pain to the ground, and he fired rapidly the one dog, which had got too close of him, to its head, killing it.

Michonne killed two dogs by firing them from the close distance into their heads with her shotgun.

However, at least three dogs managed to reach at them.

Two of them, angrily barking, lunged over the dead corpse to Rick and knocked him with the teamwork down and knocking Heckler & Koch MP5A3 off his hands before Rick managed to retreat and fire at the angry dogs.

Third one tried to lunge at Michonne, but Michonne was quicker than Rick was and immediately threw herself backwards, throwing away her shotgun and grabbing to her sword's handle with both of her hands as the dog leaped over the body towards her, the mough opened to wide and its fangs beared to the lethal bite targeted towards Michonne's head.

In Rick's case, once the dogs had pinned him down, they tried to snap their jaws and their sharp fangs around Rick's throat into the killing bite. But Rick fought hardly back, keeping with his arms the barking and drooling dogs heads back and away from his head and throat, even though the dogs, attacking front two fronts, were slowly starting to overpower him and they heads, jaws and sharp fangs slowly approached Rick's throat, no matter how hard Rick tried with his slowly fading strength to struggle back against them.

There seemed to be a bit more dogs, because one attacked at Rick's leg, starting to rip his trousers to shreds from his right leg. Rick tried to kick it off his right leg and away from him with his left leg, but after the yelp of pain, the dog attacked to his trousers again, more angrier.

In Michonne's case, as the angry dog had missed her, after she had threw herself backwards to avoid the dog's jaws and fangs, and was about to flew over her and land to the ground behind of her, Michonne quickly swung her katana from beneath of the dog, cutting the animal in half, and getting in the process covered by the dog's blood and guts.

Michonne twisted her faces in disgust, even though this wasn't the first time she bathed in the blood and guts of the walkers, humans or animals.

However, Michonne quickly snapped out opf her disgust as more dogs were coming.

Michonne, realizing that she had not time to get up, quickly changed her sword's position into the stabbing position and draw it backwards as the next dog lunged angrily barking over the body and towards her, targeting its fangs and jaws towards her head just like the first one Michonne killed with her sword.

Michonne then pushed her sword towards the dog's open mouth, pushing the long blade inside of the dog's mouth.

The dog, at the time of its death as the blade sunk deeper of it through of its mouth, threw itself over Michonne before its limp body went fell on Michonne and remained both motionless and lifeless.

As more dogs were incoming, Michonne quickly pushed the dog off her and draw her sword out of it.

Michonne had time to only get on squat, as the dogs jumped one by one over the dead body.

Tensed but mentally relaxed, even in the middle of such of hellish situation, Michonne Focused all her strength and her swordsmanship skills together to survive from this life-treatening threat their attackers sent against them.

And as one of the dogs, the white furred one, lunged at her, Michonne swung her katana towards the first dog's head from the top downwards, cutting the lethal wound across of its faces and killing it. The dog let out the yalp in pain before it fell over to the ground motionless behind of Michonne.

Another dog then attacked her, snapping its drooling jaws and fangs, but Michonne reacted quickly by narrowly dodging the dog. And afte she dodged the dog's attack, she quickly and smoothly turned around and pulled her sword from down to up, beheading the dog.

Michonne's attention was then caught by Rick's desperate struggling sounds behind of her, plus the angry barkings of the dogs under of the blind lust for flesh and blood.

Michonne turned to look behind of her, and much to her horror, she saw Rick being pinned down and nearly getting brutally mauled by three dogs, one of which was ripping his tousers.

One of the dogs seemed to act like it had already sunk its fangs to Rick's right arm and was already mauling his arm.

"RICK!" Michonne cried and rushed to his aid, ignoring the heavy gunfire.

But the more incoming dogs she couldn't ignore that easy.

Taking Rick's Heckler & Koch MP5A3, Michonne began to fire with it at the dogs, killing or mortally wounding eight dogs. But because of the darkness, the dogs dark brown or black fur and thei quick moving, it was quite hard to have accurate aim at them.

Eventually Michonne ran out of the ammo and there was more dogs incoming.

Michonne threw Heckler & Koch MP5A3 away and positioned herself and her sword ready to save the man she loved from the dogs.

As the dogs nearly overpowered Rick, Michonne positioned her sword into the stabbing-ready position and hardly pushed it forward at the dogs Rick was trying to keep back with his arms, pushing her katana's blade harshly through of the heads of both dogs, killing them instantly.

And as Michonne pulled her sword away, the dogs lifeless bodies fell over of exhausted Rick, as Michonne turned her focus to the last one ripping the pieces of Rick's tousers, Without paying any attention to the woman with the sword before she swung the katana towards the dog, beheading it with the one smooth swung.

Michonne killed yet three dogs by beheading two of them with the quick and smooth swings and stabbed in between of third one's eyes before the attack of the dogs seemed to pausing for now.

Michonne then turned to Rick and stretched out her hand to help him up.

"Rick! Hurry up, Rick! Get up!" Michonne cried hurriedly.

Rick, however, was already exhausted after trying with all his strength to prevent the dogs from mauling his throat with their fangs and of trying desperately to stay alive. And as exhausted as he was, he heavily panting slwoly rose back up on his feet, starting from crawling out from under of the dogs dead bodies at first and grabbing from Michonne's hand, allowing her to pull him up from the ground.

But suddenly, three dogs attacked out of nowhere to Michonne, knocking the sword out of her had and pinning her on her back to the ground.

The dogs attack was so powerful that it caused Michonne to do somersault backwards, during of which Michonne kicked with her legs one of the dogs, the first one who had lunged at her, off her against the house's wall, senting the dog a biot stunned from the impact against the wall.

Michonne herself managed to climb on her knees, until the next two-three dogs attacked.

As one of them lunged at Michonne, Michonne pulled out her knife and raised her left arm in the way of the dog as it lunged at her, preventing the loudly and angrily barking beast to snap its jaws and fangs around of her head.

And taking the opportunity of this, Michonne stabbed the dog into it's body multiple times with her knife, killing the dog.

However, three remained dogs attacked Michonne all together from the three direction.

The one dog Michonne kicked off her against the house's wall, quickly recovered and lunged against of Michonne's back, pulling her down with its own weight. And shortly after that, second dog attacked her from front of her, lunging over head and remaining to hang in her body's front side.

They both were aggressively striving towards her neck, which Michonne barely managed to prevend from happening, desperate struggling against the dogs and even ignoring that the dogs tore her clothes with their claws and even clawed her, causing some scratches on her back and both sides of her shoulders, which of course caused Michonne to grit her teeth in pain.

Then, the third dog, attacked her from her left flank, snapping its jaws and fangs around of her right arm into the painful bite, which got Michonne to cry in pain, as the power of the third dog's speed and lunging pinned her down on her side to the ground...

...and she was at the mercy of the angry dogs, as an easy prey to be mauled by these angry dogs.

However...

Rick had witnessed from aside the woman he loved desperately struggling back against the dogs while being brutally pinned down, overnumbered, overpowered and about to be mauled by these dogs theior attackers sent against them.

The sight of Michonne at the mercy of the certain death in the fangs of these dogs highly _ANGERED_ Rick, reminding him about the other heavy losses he had experienced... he had already lost Lori in the prison because of Andrew the prisoner, who he though to be killed by the walkers at the mercy of which he left him, and who had lured and allowed the walkers to wonder inside and overrun the prison briefly, killing T-Dog, separating Carol from them and causing Lori to get killed... he had also lost his former love Interest Jessie because of the Wolves, whose sudden attack to Alexandria caused their watch tower to collapse over and through of Alexandria's wall thus allowing the half of the massive herd they attempted to lure far away from near area of Alexandria, which had failed because of the wolves attack, to enter inside of Alexandria and quickly overrun the streets and some houses, thus causing the deaths of several alexandrians during the overrun or the battle, including Jessie after her son Sam's whimpering revealed their presence to the herd.

Rick had thought that he had lost Michonne after their trip to bring ill-feeling Maggie to Hilltop was annoyingly interfered and time after time blocked with the different kind of barriers. One of which was the line of chained walkers, and one of which had Michonne's dreads attached, which had caused Rick to become mentally afraid for Michonne after he had learned that Michonne was kidnapped by the Saviors and that he himself had no back then any idea of what had happened to her and that was she still alive and as their prisoner or dead... until they were reunited on that terrible night in the Saviors trap.

But this time, Rick absolutely wasn't going to lose Michonne to the fangs of the dogs of these attackers, who had attacked at them because of their completely wrong beliefs about them.

His anger allowed him to gain a new spark of the strength, filling his every muscle and every vein, and Rick finally jumped up on his feet, ignoring the heavy gunfire against the house's side wall.

Because the more dogs was coming, Rick took AR-15 Variant from lying on the ground next to the guy Michonne had cut in half, and began to fire with it at the dogs lunging over the corpses towards them, killing many dogs before they reached to her or Michonne.

"RICK!" Michonne called his name for help, as she desperately struggled back against the dogs attacking her and and trying her best to prevent them from ravaging her neck with their fangs, though all three dogs were mauling her from every direction... and one of them was roughly mauling his left arm in its jaws and teeth.

"I'm coming, Michonne! Hang on!" Rick yelled back, taking his faithful Colt Python and aimed with it at the dogs attacking Michonne...

...until he was suddenly attacked by few another dogs, which Rick killed by the straight headshot one by one, until he had used all his Colt Python's four bullets, leaving nothing left for him to kill the dogs attacking Michonne.

And there seemed to be not end of the dog pack as more and more just came out of the bushes.

"HURRY, RICK! I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG I CAN ... KEEP THESE DOGS BACK AWAY FROM ME!" Michonne shouted, gritting in pain as the dog mauling her left arm released its grib from around of Michonne's arm to have better grib and sunk its fangs on Michonne's arm, causing her to scream in pain.

Rick immediately fired towards the dogs attacking Michonne, and with the quite hurried aim he killing successfully the one Michonne was holding back with her knee and the another one Michonne help back from her faces with her right arm. But because Michonne's left arm was front of the third one, he did not got the clear shot.

However, Rick had to turn his AR-15 Variant to other direction as more dogs leaped over the bodies, attacking towards Michonne – and some attacked him – in the pack of over twenty-seven new and fresh dogs.

Killing with the three-four dogs attacking him with the quick and single straight headshot in order to save ammunition for the dog pack, Rick used most of his AR-15 Variant's ammunition to the dog pack, killing at least twenty-one without the need of aiming clearly.

However, much to his shock, he eventually run out of the ammo.

They had run out of the ammo with most of the guns in their possession, which were either knocked a small distance away from them or destroyed.

And there was from this wave six left.

Four of them, and suddenly two more appeared dogs, joined to the remaining dog mauling Michonne's left arm by attacking Michonne, pinning her down with the brutal force, that she was more difficult, straightforward, almost impossible to fight back the dogs and keep them away from reaching her neck and head with their snapping jaws and teeth, though they lunged their teeth and claws everywhere.

But despite the odds having greatly against her and being clawed by some of the dogs, Michonne kept desperately but boldly fighting back the dogs with all strength she still had left.

Two dogs also attacked Rick, but Rick spotted Beretta 92FS, which was kicked off his hand by one of the attackers,lying on the ground and quickly grabbed to it, lifting it up to the level of the dogs heads, pulling the trigger diwn and killing one dog with the straight headshot...

...but the remaining dog got too close of him before Rick managed to turn the handgun towards it. The dog lunged at him and pinned him down on his back to the ground, but failed to knock the gun out of his hand.

Rick, however, managed to prevent the dog from snapping it's jaws and teeth around of his throat by using his left arm, which Rick placed to the front of dog's throat and pushed the dog's head back... as he slowly but hurriedly placed his handgun's barrrel next of the dog's head...

...and pulled the trigger, three times, firing the three shots through of the dog's head... killing it.

And once the dog was dead, Rick was able to get up and turn his full focus to help Michonne.

And he hoped that it was not too late to save her.

Rick placed FN FAL gun to hang in his back, deciding to save its ammunition for later, knowing that he will need them yet, and he picked Michonne's katana from the ground and rushed towards Michonne and the angry dogs mercilessly mauling her

Rick aimed with Beretta 92FS at the dogs, but only in intention to get their attention turned to him and away from Michonne. That's why he didn't directly fired at the dogs standing over, much to Rick's relief, still living Michonne, to avoid her getting the lethal or badly wounding hit from his hurried firing.

At least two of the dogs in Michonne's left side were badly alerted by Rick's gunfire and immediately backed away from Michonne to avoid getting shot as they probably believed Rick firing directly at them... however, once they were far away from Michonne, Rick used the hand gun's last ammunation to kill the dogs with the headshots.

the other dogs saw this, and angered by this, they all abandoned Michonne – except for one who was still ravaging Michonne's left arm – and charged as an pack at Rick, thus allowing Michonne to turn her entire focus to the last dog ravaging her arm.

Rick was not very skilled at using the sword like Michonne, but at least Rick managed with the heavy swing to cut the first dog's front legs off, before Rick draw the swword backwards and then pushed it through of the next attacking and at him lunging dog's throat, killing it.

Rick then used the sword more often to keep the dogs from attacking his flank with the heavy swings, beheading one attacking dog's head in the process, as Rick took in addition to Michonne's sword as his extra weapon his ax to his right hand and immediately swung its blade with the heavy strike to the next attacking dog's head, nearly splitting it in half.

Meanwhile, Michonne managed to grab her knife back to her hands, and without the hesitation, Michonne started furiously to stab the dog's head with her knife, stabbing the dog's head multiple times until it was certain that the dog was already dead, as it fell over to the ground, went to limp and released Michonne's bleeding arm from between of its jaws.

Michonne gritted her teeth in pain in her left arm from the dog's bite area, feeling the same waves of pain everywhere of her body, but stubbornly ignoring them, Michonne quickly get up from the ground, looking for the weapon with which to finish off the remaining dogs.

Meanwhile, two remaining dogs attempted to lure Rick to open his guard, so that one of the dogs would be able to sneak to his flank and attack from behind while Rick's attention was elsewhere in the another dog.

Rick tried to keep the dogs away from him by swinging both Michonne's sword and ax towards the dogs.

The dogs indeed backed off, but only briefly and to avoid getting hit from the blood covered blades of the sword and ax.

The dogs plan eventually worked, as Rick failed to see one of the dogs sneaking behind of his left flank while Rick's attention was in another dog.

The dog waited impatiently the right moment to strike...

...before it eventually lunged to attack.

After Michonne had found her own Beretta 92FS, lying on the ground next to one of the guys her and Rick's "watch dogs" killed, he turned to Rick and gasped in shock after what she saw.

"RICK! LOOK OUT! BEHIND YOU!" Michonne cried.

Alarmed by Michonne's warning cry, Rick quickly turned around to see the one of the dogs lunging from behind of him and snapping its jaws and blood-filled fangs towards Rick.

By his instincts, Rick quickly raised his left arm in the way of the dog's jump as it lunged from the ground at him and remained to hang from it's claws in Rick and the power of its leap was nearly strong enough to knock Rick over to the ground.

However, Rick was barely capable to keep his balance and he had managed to place his left arm under of in him hanging dog's chin, blocking the dog's attack and preventing it from snapping its jaws and fangs around of his head or throat.

Now when Rick's focus was in this dog, the second one saw it's opportunity and was about to attack Rick's legs to take him down...

...until, the dog got multiple gunshots from Michonne's wielding Beretta 92FS, causing the dog to yelp in pain before one of the shots flew through of the dog's head and brains, killing it.

Michonne then turned her gun towards the dog hanging on Rick, but Rick's rapid moving and turning from side to side while trying to keep his balance and prevent the dog from biting his head or throat, made it difficult to have the clear shot without accidentally hitting and wounding Rick.

"RICK! TURN AROUND AND STAY STILL!" Michonne ordered.

Rick didn't need to be told twice.

So he immediately turned around, that Michonne was able to get exact aim at the dog, and Rick also did his best to stay still, which was easier said than done because of the aggressively and rapidly moving dog hanging on him, causing Rick to totter everywhere in order to regain his balance while trying to prevent the dog from bitting his faces.

After Michonne had the clear shot, she fired her handgun's ammunition magazine completely empty at the dog, before she finished it off by the very last shot into the dog's head, and as an result, it's grip loosened from Rick and it's lifeless body fell to the ground.

After getting rid of the dog, Rick quickly rushed to Michonne, who lied heavily panting, exhausted and even bleeding on the ground, and knelt down next to her to check her.

"MICHONNE, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Rick asked, both shocked and angered of her physical well-being.

Even though Michonne was still alive, she was covered by ruises and slightly bleeding scratches, rhe worst of which was on her left temple, from which blew some blood on her face. Michonne had also two slightly bleeding scratches on her face, one of which was in middle of her forehead and one on her right cheek. Her bleeding left arm was badly ravaged by the dog's fangs. She had also two-three bad dog bites, one on her left side and two others were on her right thigh. The dogs had even The dogs had even tore the skirts of her shirt into shreds, causing the slight claw marks on her upper body and her thighs. And she had also some slight scratches from the claws on her back.

However, despite all those injuries, and despite the heavy gunfire against the house's wall's remains, Michonne gave Rick the exhausted smile.

"I'm fine, Rick." Michonne whispered.

Rick gave to the woman he loved a quick smile and nod.

"We're almost out of ammo, Michonne. We cannot stay here any longer. I take you back to the van and then let's get out of here while we still can," Rick said as he grabbed from Michonne with both of his arms and prepared to lift her wounded body from the ground and take her to the car garage to their can, so they can get out of here as long as they still can.

However, Michonne almost forcibly crawled out of his arms.

Rick looked with the confused look at Michonne as she, gritting her teeth but struggling hardly to ignore all the pain she felt everywhere, tried to get up on her knees and rejecting Rick's attempts to help her.

"RICK... YOU DON'T NEED TO HELP ME! I CAN GET MYSELF TO THE GARAGE INTO COVER, BUT I NEED YOU TO BUY ME MORE TIME TO GATHER EVERYTHING WE HAVE GOT TO THE GARAGE! I NEED YOU TO HOLD THEM OFF AS LONG AS YOU CAN GIVE TO ME... TO HAVE EVERYTHING STILL USEFUL AND GET THEM TO GARAGE! IT'S TIME I NEED YOU TO GIVE TO ME, YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Michonne loudly explained to Rick under of this loud and heavy gunfire.

Rick looked at Michonne with the confused and questioning – also deeply worried – look.

"WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU...?!" Rick tried to ask, but Michonne sternly silenced him.

"NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, RICK! GO NOW! DO NOW AS I TOLD YOU! HOLD THEM OFF SOMEHOW! BY SHOOTING AT THEM THOUGH! I DON'T CARE HOW EXACTLY YOU'RE GOING TO HOLD THEM OFF, JUST SOMEHOW SO THAT YOU CAN BUY ME TIME I NEED!" Michonne yelled.

Rick seemed to be extremely reluctant to do what Michonne told him to do, due to his worried for Michonne's bad and bleeding injuries from the dogs fangs and claws all over her body.

Michonne also saw this.

Suddenly, they both heard more angry barking-like sounds coming from the forest, telling to Rick and Michonne that their attackers had brought more dogs and were about to release them upon them... yet again.

Michonne quickly turned to Rick.

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME, RICK! I'LL BE FINE! JUST GO!" Michonne urged before he turned her back to Rick and started to crawl on her knees, staying under of the gunfire, towards the empty but still useful weapons lying on the ground and started to pick them up and threw them towards the open garage or even near of it.

Even though Rick was mentally more urged to rush to aid of the woman he loved, Rick knew that he would not be helpful for her if the dogs kept coming from the bushes, kept attacking them and pinning them to the ground by the brutal force and numbers time after time once the last ones were defeated. He needed to take down the next incoming dogs at first or force them to retreat. After that he would be able to help Michonne.

Quickly thinking, Rick spotted the full grenade gun lying on the ground next to from the gunfire and from the missile's blast mutilated body of one of the first attackers and immediately rushed towards it, hoping to be able to force the dogs retreat.

And as he rushed to it, Rick took FN FAL gun off his back and started to fire with it at the forest and bushes, directing his fire to the certain spots from where was coming the rapid and repetitive flashes from the firing guns barrels...

...until Rick was briefly pinned down by the another gunfire emerging from the another direction's bushes, which forced Rick to get down behind of the mutilated corpses for the cover...

Before he jumped up from the cover, turning his gunfire towards that direction and firing at there briefly, before he turned his gun once again to the recent direction he fired at first and opened fire at the attackers hiding in the bushes...

...hoping to cause several kills to their attackers and to buy more time for Michonne to do whatever she was doing.

Michonne had meanwhile managed to have...

...the masked guy's knives...

...their own weapons Mossberg 590, her Beretta 92FS, Rick's trusty Colt Python and Norinco Type 560...

...and their very first attackers...

...Winchester Model 1897 shotgun...

...both of the Colt M16A4 rifles...

...Derek's Heckler & Koch MP5A3...

...Zoe-called teenager girl's Colt Law Enforcement Model 6920 Carbine...

...and one of the first attackers grenade belts and some dynamite they had with them when they attacked to the house...

...picked from the griund and piled into the garage, and was at the moment carrying on her back remington 870 Police Magnum, Colt M16 and rocket launcher while heading to the garage.

However, because of the dog bite wounds in her right thigh and that she was crawling on her wounded leg, Michonne had the difficult in ignoring the burning pain in her leg and even in staying upright.

The pain burning her right thigh like fire was once too much for her to ignore, that she eventually gave up to it and fell over to the ground, dropping the guns she was carrying on her back.

Gritting her teeth in pain, Michonne remained to lie on the ground in her pain for a moment, holding with both of her hands her bleeding right thigh, before she, trying her best to ignore the pain, crawled back on her knees and kept going.

"Hurry up, Michonne! I'm running out of ammo!" Rick cried to Michonne, as he loaded his gun with the very last ammunition magazine, with the very low number of ammunation, not even half left, which he took from FN FAL gun wielded guy's dead corpse's jacket's pocket and continued firing at the bushes.

"Just a little more time, Rick!" Michonne cried as respond as she hurriedly crawled towards on the ground lying AR-15 Variant and Beretta 92FS guns and took them into the garage.

And once those two guns were inside of the garage, Michonne did a couple of search trips more on the dead bodies of their first attackers, finding in the first one more grenade belts from their corpses, and from every backpack of the dead attacker she found more dynamite, ammunition magazines, first-aid kit, couple water bottles, a small plastic box with untouched sandwiches and several Orion Flare Guns.

At least three-four backpacks were full of these stuff, so Michonne took them all with the guns and explosives.

With his second trip, Michonne had gathered two grenade guns, carrying them on her back, and one missile launcher, which she slowly rolled towards the garage, interpreting even those guns helpful for them.

Rick, however, eventually ran out the ammunation, leaving him with almost nothing to defend himself and buy time for Michonne.

And after their attackers found this out, a new heavy, rapid and repetitive gunfire emerged out of the bushes towards Rick and Michonne, which forced both of them to threw themselves to the ground in cover as the heavy gunfire pinned them down.

At their direction was also fired with the rocket launchers from everywhere, which rockets hit to the ground all around of them, throwing the ground soil and from the blasts mutilated bodies of walkers everywhere. And some of the rockets also hit to the remainings of the house, throwing the pieces of wood all around...

...and one of the rockets hit to the feet of the smokestack of the house, throwing Michonne violently to the ground and heavily damaging the smokestack, Which weight to outside eventually got it to separated from the wall that was already heavily damaged by the heavy gunfire...

...and it was about to crush Michonne.

Gritting her teeth in pain, while trying also ignore it, Michonne quickly rolled out of the way of the falling smokestack, which smashed against the ground, destroying the missile launcher beneath of it in the process.

Suddenly, Rick re-spotted the grenade gun, which he had completely forgot and grabbed to it.

"GET BACK TO THE GARAGE MICHONNE, AND PREPARE TO CLOSE THE DOOR!" Rick cried to Michonne, before he emerged out from behind of the corpse and fired two grenaded to two spots from where was heavier, rapid and repetitive was coming from.

This was followed by two explosions, which ignited the bushes in the fire and probably killed almost everyone hiding in those spots' bushes, as the explosions threw some mutilated people out from the bushes to the yard area, where they remained motionless and probably even lifeless...

...and to make sure that their attackers will leave them alone for so long that he and Michonne have time to get into their van and get out of here, Rick kept firing with the grenade gun at the forest, which exploded one by one after they disappeared into the darkness, bushes and between of the trees, igniting more trees and bushes on fire, and even knocking over some trees near of the spots of explosions.

Among of the explosions was also two the biggest ones with the more massive flames, and it seemed that in the towering flames was flying from the ground in the air two burning cars wrecked by the explosion of their own fuel tank... with the Browning M2HB guns attached to them.

Rick had taken down at least two of them with the one shot, but that didn't mean that there will be no more the vehicles with to them attached weapons.

Michonne had, meanwhile, done yet one more search visit and went to fetch yet two Airtronic RPG-7 rocket launchers the Max-named fat guy had carried with him. And once they were among the rest of the weapons and other stuff she had fetched...

"RICK! COME ON!" Michonne called Rick as she was about to close the doors of garage.

While the fire consumed the bushes and trees on the yard's border, preventing anyone to get through of the flames, and at the same time a thick smoke filled the air in the forest, greatly bothering the sight of anyone still alive from the explosions, Rick took the opportunity of this and quickly rose to his feet, grabbing both the grenade gun and FN FAL gun with him and rushed towards the garage's doors.

Suddenly, Rick heard once again the angry barking behind of him and quickly peeked over his shoulder to see...

Through the flaming bushes emerged a new small back of dogs, which angrily barked at Rick as they took the chase after Rick.

After seeing the dogs, Rick added a running speed to his legs to reach to insode of the garage, before Michonne manages to shut the doors and before the dogs could run him down with ease... even though Rick knew that he will never outrun the dogs, even though the distance between him and the garaghe doors was so short.

Michonne, however, knowing that these dogs were fresh ones and they could easily catch Rick and pin him down on his stomach to the ground and kill him if she doesn't do something to prevent that.

So, Michonne took one of the Airtronic RPG-7 rocket launchers and aimed it towards the spot the dog packs first ones were about soo to pass, the mutilated corpse...

...she aimed, and fired, as the dogs were about to leap over the remainings of the corpse.

The missile passed Rick, narrowly missing his leg, and hit to the corpse and exploded beneath of the dogs, consuming them into the fire and tearing the dogs into pieces, throwing their mutilated corpses everywhere. The explosion also tossed the corpse roughly over behind of the first ones running dogs, trapping them under of Max's mutilated but still heavy corpse.

The explosion also got Rick to throw himself sharply forward towards the garage's doors...

...and Michonne, after seeing this, threw herself upwards, grabbed from the door's inside handle and was about to pull it down with her own weight...

...as Rick landed on his left shoulder to the ground and rolled along the ground the rest of the distance between of the garage doors and the corpse.

The one last dog, which had survived from the explosion, get around of the flaming explosion spot and continued its chase.

Rick rolled along the ground beneath of the door to inside of the garage...

...as Michonne had nearly successfully closed the door completely...

...until the last dog lunged towards the gap between of the ground and rapidly closing door and opened its jaws to snap them around of Rick's wrist, which was still close of the door, to pull him out of the garage and maul him to death.

However, the dog's head managed to get through of the gap between the door and the ground...

...until Michonne closed the door completely...

...and the dog's head was left between of the ground and the closing door from its neck.

The heavy door landed with the lethal power the dog's neck, snapping it in half, and killing the dor instantly.

* * *

Once in the garage, in the save for now...

Rick quickly crawled to Michonne, who had a bit of difficulty in standing up, even on her knees.

"Michonne? Are you alright?" Rick asked with the deeply worried tone.

The bleeding in Michonne's received wounds hadn't stopped. The bleeding was of course slow, and the consequences brought about by it were as well slowly effectful, but Michonne struggled double time to maintain her consequences.

"I'm fine, Rick. I'm fine." Michonne said - or lied, even though it hurted her to lie in front of the faces of man she loved with all her heart - as she started to feel a little dizzy, which brought to her amost vomiting feeling, that she had to get the support from the ground with her with her good hand and rubbed her head with her wounded and bleeding arm's hand.

Rick saw the truth through of Michonne's innocent lie and judging from her behaviors.

"No, you're not fine, Michonne! We have to do something with your wounds or you'll slowly die in the blood lost!" Rick stated, pointing at Michonne's bleeding bite wounds all around of her body.

However, Michonne ignored them... or at least she tried her best to ignore them, having her focus completely in their life-threatening and death serious situation... which was proved as from outside of the doors of garage started to be heard more heavy gunfire targeted at house... especially to the area of the garage's doors.

Some shots even bursted through of the garage's door, hitting to the van's left side and forcing Rick and Michonne to get down to avoid to get shot.

"And once I have tied up your wounds to stop their bleeding, I get you to the van and we're out of here immediately!" Rick said and turned around.

However, Michonne grabbed from Rick's arm and nearly forcibly pulled him back as he was about to move towards the first-aid kit and pulled him back.

"We have a much more death serious situation to be handled first than my wounds, Rick. And there's no way for us to get out of here with the van." Michonne stated.

Rick looked at Michonne with confused and also highly protesting look.

"What are you talking about, Michonne? Of course tending your wounds is as well the death serious thing. The wounds you reveived from the dogs teeth needs to be tied up to stop the bleeding and you need the medical treatment before they can even get inflamed. But what you just said "There's no way for us to get out of here with the van" is bullshit! Our van can take a several hits but they're not enough to stop us if we just hurry out of here. Now, let's go!" Rick said and tried to move towards the first-aid kit yet again...

...only to be forcibly pulled back by Michonne yet again.

"I know that this is nothing compared to this situation, but I was once shot to my thigh! It hurted like hell and it bleeded even, but ignored the pain and it took several hours before I finally gave up to it and passed out, if you remember." Michonne said sternly in front of Rick's face, reminding Rick from the day they met very first time back in the prison, when Michonne, covered by the walker guts, staggered to the prison's fences with the baby formula after she was hunted in the woods by Merle and a few woodbury soldiers in order of the Governor to have her head as a part of his sickly collection of human heads and she had got injured from the gunshot to her left thigh while ambushing Merle's party and killing several of them and after having witnessing Merle kidnapping Glenn and Maggie during of their supply run.

"And how in the hell you're going to take us our of here with the van, when there's still probably a huge number of attackers stalking us with the heavy gunfire from the bushes and the corpses of walkers, our first attackers and their accursed dogs, slowing greatly our flight out of here and making us childishly easy target for their guns. It does not need from them luck to get the direct shot into your head if you sit in the driver's seat which happens to be on the side of the heavy gunfire's the incoming direction."

"Besides, who knows if they already believe us to be either so bold or foolish to even try to burst out of the van by the way you said and burst out of their siege, head to the route and drive out of here? Who knows if they're placed more snippers in the trees and told them to be ready to either shoot you in the driver's seat or our van's tires to prevent our escape? And even though if we may manage barely to survive out of their siege and to the road, who knows if they don't even go chasing us because of our van's contains?"

"And, besides yet another time, they already knows about Alexandria and probably its direct location... and if they have a camp somewhere and more people, a lot of people, with more riot suits, such of toys and even battle dogs, and if they are so angry at us for killing their people, just like Negan was at us for killing his men back in that Satellite Station and came after us, _KILLING GLENN AND ABRAHAM IN FRONT OF OUR EYES_... who knows if they might send their own people to counter-attack against Alexandria, to raid our home and probably kill everyone here. And even with the help of Jadis and her scavengers, we have not enough of people to fight in two fronts, both against the saviors and these people." Michonne said sternly, listing the any possible alternative consequences if they just decide to flee out of here like cowards...

...and if they leave these people alive.

"What are you suggesting? Do we just escape to the woods from the backside of the house and leave our van and all of that stuff received with the hard and life-risking work at the mercy of these attackers? But we need all those weapons and those ammunation to fulfil our deal with Jadis and the scavengers. We have to take them out of here with us." Rick protested, confused of that what Michonne was after.

"I didn't said that we should abandon all of what we have received with the hard and life-risking work. We're outta here, of course, but we must at first to make sure that our home remains in secret to these people and their friends." Michonne said.

" _BY KILLING EVERY LAST ONE OF THOSE MOTHER FUCKERS, LEAVING NO SURVIVORS!_ " She added coldly.

After hearing this, Rick started once again to protest.

"But what about your wounds? Because of them, I'm not sure that you can stand upright and fight back at them for at least five minutes. You're going to be for them an easy target! I cannot allow that happen!" Rick said wwith the protesting tone and worrying for Michonne.

"And yet I was able to hold my own against Merle and his woodbyrian hunter party, wounded and without anyone's help, and even taking out the half of the herd stalking behind of the outer fence of the prison, before I passed out." Michonne said with the chuckle, chuckling at her luck of survival from that day until this one.

"Don't worry, Rick. I will be fine for now. Remember, _WE ARE THE TRUE SURVIVORS. WE ARE THE TRUE ONES WHO LIVE_. Following that code, we can beat these people. And then, I'll allow you to tie up my wounds after every last one of those people are dead and once the location of Alexandria remains as our secret." Michonne added.

But Rick wasn't completely agreed with Michonne. Keeping going without tending her wounds may only speed up the bleeding and cause her to faint out more quicker than what she did back then at the Prison...

...and their deal with Jadis and the scavengers was his another concern. So a large number of weapons is worthless without the ammunition, and that they needed them all to fulfil their deal to have their help and support against the saviors. They had already wasted some ammunition in vain by firing at the bushes and caused probably only the light casualties to their attackers, who most of them had probably the riot suits.

"I don't like to say like this, because of my concerns for your wounds, but if you say so, then fine. But how in the earth we are actually going to beat them?" Rick wanted to know, knowing from the deep sound of the heavy gunfire that there was still lots of people against us...

...and not the mention about the walkers. Such of loud shooting and the blasts have with the hundred percent attracted the attention of every lonely or in the small groups and herds wandering walkers from all nearby and that they were all heading towards this house, soon or later arriving here and surrounding all what remains from the house...

...and they needed to be out of here before the ring herd arrives.

Michonne, struggling against her waves of pain, sat up to look into the eyes of the man she loved, with the sly smile on her lips.

"By using your recent plan, to gain the upperhand over them through of the element of surprise by letting them to think that they had won and striking back when they're off guard. Your plan worked after all, although nearly at the cost of our own lives. I'm sure that with the such of numbers of people and the firepower, their own arrogance of seeing us as a two heavily and mortally outnumbered and near-overpowered blinds them from the reality of the warfare, just like seemingly with the saviors. Sometimes an overwhelming number and the superior firepower will not guarantee the victory, but the smartness and unexpected advantages will. That means that we can use their arrogance against them again." Michonne said.

"And I have a plan."

* * *

Back in outside, the attackers had one by one emerged out of the bushes and kept still firing at the house...

...Which was half torn into pieces under of the blasts from the grenades, missiles and rockets and the heavy and repetitive gunfire, and which was half consumed by the fires ignited by the explosions.

"Chiens de rue! Surround the house! Don't let these basterds to get away!" Said in a French accent speaking leader of this attacking group, who had a small straight french mustache but large blonde hair like the mane of the lion, and who had the tattoon of angry-looking golden retriever's head tattooed on his face.

The french-looking guy fired at the house with two gold-plated Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine guns, while he kept two gold-plated Desert Eagle Mark XIX pistols in the cases attached to his thighs.

His men, obeyed his orders, and began to surround the house, still firing at the house and killing at least less couple dozens towards them wandering and hungrily snarling walkers attracted by the loud gunfire.

But the attackers turned most of their heavy gunfire away from the garage's doors, not wanting to damage all of that stuff in the van, which was "waiting for them" inside of the garage with their enemies.

However, one of them seemingly had the deaf ears, as the another obese and heavy-built guy, dressed into gray-green loose pants help up with the chain belt around on his waist, tattered sleeveless blue shirt with the image of the blood-red angry dog and the red bandana around of his head, carrying on his back flamethrower and in his arm's the missile launcher, which he aimed to the house, around of the garage's doors...

...and fired!

At least for missiles flew inside of the house... destroying more of it what was left of the house. The explosions threw more with the high speed flying sharp pieces of wood all around of the area - some of them hitting to the walkers wandering around of the house towards the attackers and killing some of them with the direct hit through of their heads from the flying pieces of wood - and caused the house to half collapse to the ground...

...BUT THE VERY LAST MISSILE FLEW DIRECTY AT THE GARAGE'S DOORS!

THE MISSILE EXPLODED... IMMEDIATELY AFTER ITS TIP TOUCHED THE GARAGE'S DOORS, DESTROYING THE GARAGE DOORS COMPLETELY...

...and filling the doorway into garage with the huge flash of exploding flames and then with the thick smoke.

And after the explosion faded off, the entire heavy gunfire immediately stopped... as every one's eyes turned to the destroyed garage's doorway...

...glaring at the smoking garage in shock.

Awkward silence fell upon the area and into the attackers moods, believing that such of blast did not only killed their two enemies hiding in the garage, although there was no trace of their bodies in there as the smoke slightly faded, but the blast could have destroyed the van full of the stuff, after which they were.

And now the entire garage was in the flames and filled by the smoke.

The french leader of the group slowly turned his face, which slowly turned into enraged expression, as he turned his attention to his group's fat guy holding the missile launcher on his right shoulder and who looked at the destruction... awkward and embarrassed look on his faces.

"Imbécile! Imbécile! Gros imbécile!" The french leader furiously scolded at the fat guy for disobeying his orders... and probably causing them to lose the stuff in apparently dead Rick and Michonne's van with the garage.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Fifth cliffhanger...**

 **The garage, with Rick and Michonne inside, is destroyed by the fired missile!**

 **What will happen next, we'll find out the next time.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **And for the dog lovers, my apology for the deaths of so many dogs in this chapter.**

 **See ya.**


	6. Chapter 6: Counterattack

**CHAPTER 6: COUNTERATTACK**

After the entire gunfire of the attackers against the house, and with Rick and Michonne still inside of it, slowly faded away after one of the attackers had blowed up the entire entrance of the garage...

"Imbécile! Imbécile! Gros imbécile!" The french leader of the group furiously scolded at the fat guy – even slapped hima cross his face in his fiury - for disobedience and probably causing them to lose the stuff in the van with the garage.

"Imbécile! What did I just said, you Gros imbécile! Do you know what you have done?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA?! In that garage stood a van full of precious stuff we needed to get rid of ourself from those mutherfucking emperor-playing enculés! You and your insensé act cost us the greatest loot and made us a few dozen of gun weaker! And defeating them " The french leader furiously scolded.

The fat guy dropped all his weapons to the ground, from the large flamethrower to the black Glock 19 and started to act like submissive dog in front of the enraged french leader.

"I'm sorry, boss. There is still dark and bright flashes of the gunfire on every side that it bothers greatly aiming. Besides. I couldn't hear anything in middle of this loud gunfire and explosions." The submissiving fat guy said sheepishly to his boss as his only self-defense for his actions.

However, the french boss was far less satisfied of this excuse the fat guy gave to him.

Judged from his attitude and apparent dislike towards him, it seemed that the french leader had probably knew this fat guy for a while and had been once before, or quite many times over, found himself in the similiar or different kind of adversities when this fat guy was at presence.

"Here we are again. Once again a new and highly poor excuse from you, Two Ton!" French leader scolded, not believing any word what the fat guy called Two Ton said as self-defense.

"No, I mean it, boss. My hearing is not as before. Not ever since we robbed that an abandoned military base and exploded the base put ot the sky in order to leave nothing left for to be retrieved by our accursed tormentors." Two Ton complained.

"Well, was the problem with your ears back them when you blasted a pickup truck full of hard-earned and so badly needed gasoline, after I said, NO SMOKING near of barrels of gasoline three weeks ago?!"

Two Ton gave the nod to the fact, justifying that that he loved smoking. But he admitted that in the fact the idea that where they actually were at the moment accidentally slipped from his mind.

"Or was the problem with your ears back then when I told you to look after our truck, and you let yourself to be misled by strange group of trespassers and allowed them to steal one of our trucks loaded with the hard-earned food from that grocery two weeks ago?!"

Two Ton gave the reluctant nod to the fact, defended himself this time with the fact that the state of his long-range hearing is much badder than his close-range hearing and the order, in fact, was given to him from between of the long- and close-ranges. Besides, even though Two Ton heared the order, albeit weakly, he was back then all alone against the superiority number and forced to seek cover from behind of the truck's the passenger's seat's side... leaving the driver's seat completely unwatched.

However, the french leader was still unsatisfied.

"Or... was the problem with your ears in the last week when I told you to stay low and wait for my orders when we were supposed to ambush the group of those fucking emperor-playing enculés when they were at the break on the road and when their guard was off, but you fired at them too earlier, thus revealing us to them and allowed them to escape with most of our stuff?! WAS THAT BECAUSE OF YOUR SO-CALLED PROBLEM IN YOUR EARS?!"

This time, Two Ton snapped, but remained still submissive.

"Hey! That order came from close-range of my hearing and I heard that. I barely even pulled the trigger. It was just an innocent accident and the accidents happens often. In fact, the fault was my gun which got jammed and fired when I tried to load it!" Two Ton explained defending himself.

However, the enraged french leader remained still both enraged and unsatisfied.

Before he turned his angered face at him.

"Well, do you have then any idea that WHAT YOUR SO-CALLED "ACCIDENT" COSTED TO US AS PHUNISMENT-LIKE CONSEQUENCES JUDGED IN THE LAW OF THEIR FRONTIER JUSTICE UPON US FOR OUR SO-CALLED "RECKLESS" FAILED ATTEMPT OF AMBUSH AGAINST _HIS_ MEN DURING OF THEIR DELIVERY OF THE GOODS... WHICH WERE OUR GOODS?!" The french leader snapped in rage...

Two Ton backed away for a couple steps as his enraged leader started to approach him threateningly.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THEIR JUDGEMENT COSTED TO ME OR TO MY MEN?!" He growled.

"With all respect, boss, I do understand that. I was there witnessing that as well as everybody else, but..." Two Ton tried to explain, but he wwas rudely interrupted by his leader.

"NO, YOU DON'T! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IT! WHAT WOULD THE ONE BIG, FAT, STUPID, PEA-BRAINED, DEAF FUCKING SCABBY POOCH LIKE YPOU UNDERSTAND?! AND WHY?! BECAUSE YOU'RE LUCKY THAT YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A ONE AND...!" The french leader continued his enraged scolding, with the emotion poisoning venom in his voice, until he was interrupted by his own men.

"Sir, there seems to be something in the garage!" The man said.

Both of them, the french leader's and Two-Ton's attentions turned at the garage, which was still smoking but slowly emptying from the explosion's smoke, revealing unclearly something in the back of the garage.

"Troupeau de chien! Forward! Search the garage!" French leader ordered his men, before he turned briefly back to Two Ton with the cold look.

"You stay right here, you got it?! But not because to keep you out of the trouble, but more likely, keeping you from CAUSING THE TROUBLE THIS TIME WITH YOUR SO CALLED DEAFNESS AND YOUR PEA-BRAINED MIND!" The french leader said both coldly and rudely, as he handed over all Two-Ton's weapons plus his flamethrower to several them passing men... and ordering Two Ton to retreat back to their cars.

Albeit Two Ton snorted loudly out of frustration and emotional annoyance of being stripped from his own weaponry as well as his leader's to him given command to retread with the offending prejudice reasons, as well as he was deeply annoyed about the fact that he was continually mocked and discriminated by him only because of his bad hearing for which he simply couldn't help it – which was also apparently but certainly a baseless reason why his boss was holding the useless grudge against him for the consequences his an innocent accident with a one accursed rifle caused – Two Ton had no another choice but to turn around and retreat back to the cars hiding in the woods.

* * *

Meeanwhile, back in the house...

As the other attackers, roughly more than seventy heavily armed pack members of them and with the french leader in the front of the group, emerged through of the battlefield's floating smoke and over of the bodies of the walkers, their own people and the walkers towards Two Ton's with the rocket launcher's missile roighly opened garage's massive hole, holding their weapons in the battle-ready position at all directions, looking with their eyes for any kind of possible threat in addition towwards them roaming walkers, stalking them in the ruins of near-completely destroyed house.

Nothing seemed to happen... for now.

The french leader then locked his eyes at Zoe and Jackie, who were lying on the ground, but slowly returning to their consciousness, and quickly rushed to their aid.

After cheking their bodies in case of the mortal gunshot wounds or the bites of the walkers, and after making sure that they're both two alive, the french leader then picked the two armed women and two armed men guys from all his men, catching their attention as he called them by their names.

"You, take Zoe and Jackie out of here and take them to ambulance car to recover. And if the things turns rough in here as I doubt their will, take them to the Dog House, and don't wait for us." The french leader ordered.

The french leader was also confused as he looked around of the dead bodies of dogs, Billy's men and the walkers...

...but one thing did not seemed to be right.

"Where is Billy?" The french leader questioned after searching with his eyes for Billy.

The french leader had saw Billy to be knocked aside, but not knocked to unconscious, by one of those two (Rick and Michonne) Billy and his guerrilla troops had managed to lure out of the house and managed temporarily capture them before they broke free and killed all his guerrilla troops, except for Zoe and Jackie and whose they were fighting against for the stuff in their van standing in the garage – and who had impressively fought back rest of them despite the odds being overwhelmingly against them and holding their own for a long time, even against the dogs and caused some casualties to them, without neither of them getting killed in the firefight or by the dogs – but when his attention had turned from Billy to the brief melee fight between of Billy's guerrilla troops and these two...

Billy, of course, wasn't among the dead but he was nowhere to be seen.

To find the fellow leader and the brother-in-arms, the french leader organized the searching party of over fifteen men to search the whole area, from the yard's area, in the woods surrounding them until to the road, and find him.

And once the picked members of the searching party went off to look for mysteriously disappeared Billy out from the woods and the four other members took Zoe and Jackie away from here towards the woods, The french leader started to lead the rest of his men more closer and closer towards the hole of the garage...

...all few dozen of attackers aiming their weapons to inside of the hole and into the still-smoke-filled garage.

Nothing didn't happen.

Not a single shot.

No engage against them... yet.

The awkward silence fell briefly upon of them.

The attackers started to even lower their weapons down, as they started to believe that the blast, which destroyed the garage's doors and caused the massive hole to the garage's doors wall, had killed with one shot those two they were fighting a moment ago before the blast.

However...

This changed immediately as they explored the smoke-filled garage's smoke-covered floor with their torches and they did not find any trace of those two's in the explosion killed and mutilated bodies.

And believing that their two enemies were still alive and hiding in the smoke for the perfect opportunity to attack them when they least excepted it, the attackers immediately opened the fire into the garage with all of their pistols, rifles, carbines, shotguns and submachine guns.

Even the french leader fired into the garage with his two gold-plated Heckler & Koch MP5K submachine guns.

However, the french leader suddenly heard – even in the middle of this loud and rapid gunfire - that their bullets were repeatedly hitting against something which sounded unmistakenly the metallic surface.

And the sound was heard right front of them.

And afteer her realized the truth...

"MAINTENEZ VOTRE FEU, VOS IMBÉCILES!" The french leader ordered with his own nature language, but it was either they lack of knowledge of the language of France or because of the loud gunfire that why they heard anything he said.

"I SAID, HOLD YOUR FUCKING FIRE, VOS IMBÉCILES!" The french leader angrily repeated.

The firing immediately stopped.

Though because of the smoke, it was hard to see and tell that to what they had constantly and in vain firing and wasting their ammo a moment ago.

But it was about to be find out... only one way.

"Guard the garage's doorhole, from inside and from outside. And send a less than dozen guys to circle the house and check the ruins for those two fuckers. And make sure that no one gets in and no one gets out. I go inside of the garage to check the situation." The french leader ordered his men...

...and as they started to pick about ten guys from them to surround the house and send them to check the ruins of the rest of the house, the french leader, after reloading his weapons and after tying the bandage around of his faces to protect himself from the smoke, stepped inside of the garage

And because the french man had witnessed their two enemies smart move to use into the garage gathered _abominations_ as a diversion for Billy and his men, the french leader took extreme caution for the risk of another similiar ambush settled in here by them.

So, he took the slow and careful step forward while watching his legs and to forwards in case of any kind of traps.

However, nothing did happen...

...so he decided to take another careful step forward, still nothing happened.

And he took another step...

...and another...

...and another...

...and another...

...and another...

...and another...

...and another...

...and another...

...and another...

...and another...

...and another...

...and another, as he believed to be deep enough in the garage and streched his arms forward, trying to reach something which feels the metallic to find its location and see the reason that why they were uselessly fired at the something metallic smooh surface.

Eventually...

His fingers suddenly touched something smooth and cold metallic like surface, which the french leader soon recognized as the metal rood plates, which the former owner of this house had earlier – probably before the beginning of all of this – placed them into the garage for to be placed to the roof but eventually had forgot them to here.

At least the mystery of the metallic-sounding thing they were firing uselessly had solved, but now he had to find out something more, that because these metallic roof plates were placed in a sharp angle like they were leaning against something, which was placed behind of it.

The french leader decided to peek behind of against something leaning metallic roof plates to see that what was behind of them...

...until he suddenly, much to his surprise, discovered the van!

In one piece and completely unharmed, and its backside full of thee stuff: the guns, ammo, the food and other supplies.

The grin then appeared to the french leader's lips.

"Undeniably cunning from those two to protect all of these precious stuff from that explosion. Very smart act from them. I almost wish I could ask from them that from where they have learned these stuff, unless they either were or weren't caught by that blast. These plates might be the perfect shield against the flying sharp pieces of the grenades, missiles and the bullets, but extremely poor and yet childish hiding spot for all of this stuff." The french leather silently muttered as he quickly checked to the driver's and passenger's seats, beneath of the van and every corner – even the backside of the van, witnessing the quantity of goods inside of the van – to make sure that none was hiding there.

The french leader then started to walk back to his men.

"Good news, boys. The van and the goods within it are untouched by the blast." The french leader said to his men.

The men let out the brief cheer and triumphant laugh, believing that despite the casualties only two trespassers had caused them, they had von and gained their goods.

"What are you waiting for, boys? Let's get now OUR hard-earned goods out of here and back to the Dog House." The french leader declared with the triumphant grin on his lips.

Over dozen men entered to the garage in order to retrieve the van out of the garage with its goods...

...until one of them suddenly tripped to something covered by the smoke and nearly fell over to the ground.

"Kale, we do not have the entire night to waste for tripping to your own legs. We need to keep hurry before the entire herd of those _abominations_ or those emperors-blaying bullies attracted by the loud gunfire get to here!" The french leader urged hurriedly.

"It's not my fault, boss, and I didn't stripped to my own legs. I was tripped to the somekind of pile in the smoke, which seems..." The guy called Kale said in self-defense to his accidental clumsiness and stoop up on his knees and started to examine the pile to which he mentioned having tripped.

"...the pile which seems to be made out of the wooden pieces. And... and there seems to be something beneath of the pile." Kale added.

This caught the french leader's attention immediately, after he heard Kale mentioning about the pile made out of the wooden pieces and that there was something hidden beneath of it.

"Check that what it is." He ordered with the deep and suspicious tone of voice, as he pulled one of his submachine guns out to ready to fire anything which seemed to be even for a little suspicious.

His men followed their leader's example.

As Kale started to break the pile of wooden pieces to find out that what has been hidden beneath of the wooden pieces, he eventually pulled his arm through of the hole he made to the pile and grabbed to somethong which felt to be a long and smooth yet round by its shape thing and pulled it out from the pile.

"I got one! May somebody show me a bit light so that we can see that what is this thing?" Kale called out, and one of his fellow men aimed his torches' light towards the thing he was holding in his hand.

Once the thing came into the light... all of their eyes widened and their mouths dropped to hang in shock as they realized that the thing Kale was holding in his arm was nothing else than...

"DYNAMITE STICK?"

And yet its fuse was ignited and the flame was right about to enter inside of the dynamite!

Kale stared down, and saw in the torches' light that there was more sticks of dynamite hidden beneath of the pile of wooden pieces. And the each of their fuses were ignited and also their own fuses were nearly burned out and the flames were nearly about to enter inside of the sticks!

KLIK!

KLIK!

KLIK!

KLIK!

They suddenly heard the very iminous voice, from very close of them.

In fact, these "KLIKS" came from the inside of the garage...

...from behind of the four more small piles of the wooden pieces, near of the garage's exploded entrance, two of which were nearly against of the left-sside wall of the garage and the rest two nearly against the opposite-side's wall...

...kind of, surrounding the attackers in the entrance of the garage's exploded doorway.

The french leader, much to his surprise and shock, immediately recognized these KLIKS. Because there was nearly only one thing in the world, which could usually cause such of sounds like these KLIKS when activated.

And these things, much to his shock, happened to be...

"Sage merde!" The french leader muttered in his nature language, after realizing that their two enemies were somehow still alive and that they had lured them into their death trap like the some dumb animals to the hunting traps.

"GRENADES! ALL OF YOU! OUT OF HERE, QUI-!" The french leader tried to warn his men, but it was already too late to do anything.

Before the french leader could finish his warning shout to his men about the hidden explosives beneath of the piles of wooden pieces, the piles suddenly exploded all at the same time around of them – including the one pile beneath of which was hidden the dynamites and next of which on his knees standing Kale was at the moment, killing Kale instantly - and the explosions hurled the dozens of the sharp wooden pieces at them with the lethal power.

The five huge explosions and the high speed flying sharp wooden pieces around of the attackers killed and brutally mutilated at least over two dozen inside of the garage and in the entrance of the garage standing attackers, throwing the mutilated and bloody pieces of bodies and more sparp wooden pieces out of the garage with the shockwave, which hurled more sharp pieces at the rest of the attackers standing outside... killing six more.

The shockwave of the explosions insside of the garage hurled the french leader rouchly against the metallic roof plates leaning against the van, causing him to knock his head to them and fell to the ground half-conscious but safe from the high speed flying sharp pieces of wood, which hit against the metallic roof plates protecting the van from them.

As the french leader slowly recovered from the five blasts' shockwave and slowly stood up on his knees, the darkness in the garage was filled brieldy by the bright flash coming from outside like something there had just exploded

Suddenly, the french leader heard the steps coming right towards him from behind of the roof plates and stopped right before of him.

The french guy slowly raised his head up and looked at the strange in front of him, recognizing him as the male one (Rick Grimes) as one of those two, against whom they fought to capture their van with its goods... ALIVE AND WELL... and holding Mossberg 500 Persuader shotgun in his hands, but not in the means of aiming but more likely preparing to knock him out with it.

"I also hoped I could have asked from you and from your people something, but your people's reckless act forced us to this in the first place. I hope that we can discuss far more better after we have finished this. Bonne nuit!" Rick wished before he draw his shotgun's back and pushed its stern hardly forward at the french leader's faces.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Outside of the hole of the garage, twenty-one attackers, as well as those ten attackers who were supposed to be send to check the ruins of the house for Rick and Michonne and who were instead caught by the shockwave of the five explosions coming from the inside of the garage, quickly recovered from the shockwave and stood up on their feets.

They were soon joined by fifteen other attackers returning from the search of disappeared Billym who rushed from the woods to their to the ground fallen fellow pack members and help all of them back on their feets.

They were also joined by two other attackers, who were taking Zoe and Jackie away to their ambulance car hidding in the woods.

Those ones the shockwave had knocked over to the ground did not need to tell to their friends that what had happened, because they had already heard the loud explosion-like sounds coming from the direction of the house and their thought were confirmed by the grotesque sight of their fellow pack members' mutilated and bloody body parts, which were either pierced by the sharp wooden pieces or then they were burning.

They all raised their angered faces towards the house, knowing that those two trespassers against who they fought.

"TAKE THE FLAMETHROWERS! BURN THIS FUCKING HOUSE DOWN!" One of them ordered three of them, who were wearing the flamethrowers with them, to get ready to burd all what's left of the house to the down with the throwers...

...and the same one man ordered the remaining men to load their weapons and find the two trespassers and kill them without hesitation, without the question and even without the quater.

"WRUH! WRUH! WRUH! WRUH! FOR THE STREET DOGS AND FOR DOG HOUSE!" The attackers shouted in unison, as the ones wit hthe flametrowers get ready to release the hell upon the remainings of the house.

But suddenly...

Two of them next to the flamethrowers wielding attackers were suddenly shot to the dead with the Uzi submachine gun from behind of the corner.

The sudden attacker emerged from behind of the corner, revealing herself to the attackers.

It was Michonne!

Once noticing her, the most of the attackers and the flamethrowers wielding guys turned their weapons at Michonne in order to shoot/burn her to death, but they reacted too late.

Michonne turned her Uzi immediately towards the flamethrowers wielding attackers as they were about to shoot the streams of fire at her.

Michonne's Uzi's bullets pierced their way through of the one attacker's flamethrower tank, as two others blew the stream of fire out of their flamethrowers at Michonne, failing to notice that the flammable liquid leaking out from the first one attacker's flamethrower's tank catched the fire from their streams of fire.

This was followed the explosion, which resembled the small napalm explosion, burning the flamethrower-wielding guys to death and consuming at the same time more than fourteen attackers into the flames, burning them all to the death and the fire spread through of the floor of the dead bodies of the walkers, people and the dogs.

Those ones behind of the massive flare-up of the flames and weren't caught and consumed by the flames, immediately backed off covering their faces with their arms from the heat.

However, they had not time to recover as they were attacked from the flank and caught off guard with the shotgun fire.

Rick Grimes had suddenly and completely unexpectedly emerged out of the hole and smoke of the garage and opened fire with his shotgun at the attackers when they still least expected the attack from their left flank, killing at first three attackers from the close distance with the six devastating shotsbefore he threw the shotgun away – probably because he had only three shots in the shotgun – before he grabbed to his faithful Colt Python and fired – quite hurriedly – six shots towards the attackers, killing four of the attackers with the four hurriedly executed direct headshot.

Twelve remaining attackers finally realized that they were finally outbested by TWO PEOPLE, so they finally retreated back to the forest, covering themselves and each others with the cover fire fired towards Rick and Michonne...

...and some coverfire was emerging out from the forest towards the duo, revealing that there was still some people more having survived from the rain of the grenade gun's grenades and from the explosions.

But... Rick and Michonne did something which really surprised the attackers so badly that they went speechless and the firing stopped for a second.

THEIR ENEMY-DUO ATTACKED!

Rick and Michonne charged towards the forest after their retreating attackers, Michonne firing with the Uzi submachine gun and Rick firing with the Norinco Type 56 gun towards their retreating and still in the forest hidding attackers... leaving their attackers no chance to go counter-attack.

Rick and Michonne's united firing towards their retreating attackers - as well as in the bushes and between of the trees hiding attackers - and killed seven out of them, four by shooting them to backs and three of them were about to return to fire with fire and cover the others retreat towards the forest but failed before they managed to fire any shot.

One of the attackers, bearded guy with the cap, was quite left behind and he turned around to face the duo with the machete, but he attacked too late before Michonne charged at him. Pausing his firing with her Uzi for a moment, Michonne draw out her sword and swung its blade over her head before swung it towards the attacker and slices the devastatic cut across the attacker's stomach, causing the guts to leak out of his stomach (similiarly with Spencer after getting gutted by Negan) and left the mortally wounded attacker behind to die.

The ammunition ran fast out of their guns due to rapid firing at the forest and their attackers with no matter about wasting the ammo nor matter about their attackers having the riot suits... and when they ran out of the ammo from their guns, Rick and Michonne picked the new weapons from their dead attackers.

Rick picked up from the ground two Colt Rifles and with the "Wild-West-style" Rick fired with both of them at the forest, alternately rapidly and slowly from the left side to the right side.

And using this as the cover fire, Michonne quickly picked one of the dead attackers belt full of the grenades, activated one of them and threw it towards that spot in the bushes from where the rapid flashes from the guns barrels was denser by numbers.

The grenade, as well as the rest of the grenades in the belt, exploded in the bushes, causing one of the trees damaged from the explosion to fall over to the ground in the yard area and the explosion killed probably equal to, or less eleven attackers hidden in the bushes, as it threw three in the explosion mutilated attackers off the bushes to the yard area, leaving them to the ground motionless and lifeless.

And after that, Michonne picked the grenade gun from another dead attacker and started mercilessly fire with it the grenades at the border area of the forest and even firing some of the grenades over the treetops in the hope that the grenades will hit to these attackers assumed camp in the woods as they overheard there to be the camp and probably more of these attackers.

The explosions ravaged the forest in front of the duo...

...cutting down the trees...

...igniting more fires...

...causing a couple or a few huge explosions in the forest, probably from the lucky-shots to the cars in the forest...

...and judging from a few cries in pain after the explosions, Michonne managed to kill several of the attackers.

Eventually, both of them ran out of the ammo again...

...but, unlike what they did expect to happen, there was not fired any single shot at them from the bushes of the forest.

There was only one explonation to this...

They had retreated.

Rick placed the empty Colt Rifles to his back and started to examine the dead bodies for the weapons and extra-ammo.

Michonne took her Mossberg MVP LR equipped with a telescopic sight from her back and aimed with it to the forest as he stepped forward, with intention to go after the last survived attackers and finish this once and for all.

However, Rick called her back, because he did not saw - whuch he explained to Michonne - the reason to go after the survived attackers, who probably know this forest much more better than they do and were probably about to gather together and prepare to the counter-attack.

"What?!" Michonne exclaimed

"I would not at least recommend you to go there, not because of those." Rick said as he referred Michonne's bad injuries from the dead dogs teeth all around of her body and several in her legs, because of which she barely stayed up, and some of the wounds that came from the teeth of dogs could even lead to infection, which is why Michonne's wounds needed to be to be disinfected with disinfectant and tied with the bandages from the first-aid kit and then to be checked by Alexandria's deputy doctor Eward... who has took over as the town's doctor after Denise's murder.

However, despite having noticed herself the fact that gher walking and running was more likely limping, Michonne ignored the best she could all of that pain she felt in her legs in the places of the dogs fang marks as well as the slight bleeding.

"We have draw them back and they will not come back... at least for now. Now we should use this opportunity as an our advantage to gather everything what we got together and get out of here while we still can." Rick said with the relieved tone as he started to examine the another dead body for anything useful for them.

However, Michonne was disagree with that.

"Rick! Don't start this argument over again! I told you already, that we're going to kill them all so that none of them can follow us... to ensure the location of Alexandria remain as a secret from them! And if we don't, were going to fight in two battle fronts both against the saviors and them, to which our numbers, even with the help of the scavengers, will not be enough!" Michonne protested sternly.

"Yes, I know that we should to, but..." Rick started, until he was interrupted by Michonne.

"Rick, even though we managed to drive them back, that doesn't mean that they will not return to finish what they started! We must get these people killed before they become as big a threat as the saviors already are to our people." Michonne stated sternly.

"LET ME FINISH!" Rick exclaimed sternly, much to Michonne's surprise.

"I know that we should to kill these people to ensure the safety of our people and the location of Alexandria remaining as a secret from them, but these people and their strategies are completely strange to us and we are not prepared to fight this kind of a new enemy... yet! Besides, I can not allow the same mistake we did with the saviors to repeat itself and paid for it with the lives of few of our own people! We need to know these people far more better, and we possibly need to even negotiate with them about the truce between of us and them, by using their apparently same common goal with our own as an advantage to prevent the useless bloodshed between of us, before we become the completely enemies with each others and we go to the useless war against them as well as against Negan and the saviors, to which our numbers indeed isn't enough." Rick explained.

Michonne could believe her ears after hearing this.

"Are you seriously still talking about the negotiating with the people like these, who tried recently to kill us with the high-levels toys and feed us to the dogs?!" Michonne exclaimed out of shock and disbelief of Rick's words.

Rick answered to this with with the positive nod.

But Michonne still remained as suspicious of this.

"I asked this from you already, and I ask this from you again. What makes you think that they are even willing to negotiate with us as they believe us to be one of Negan's minions... and far worse, after we have killed a lots and lots of their people without getting ourself to be killed by them? They certainly want us to pay dearly for their dead." Michonne said with the doubt and concern in her voice.

"YES!" Rick answered determinedly.

"They do not know us because judging from their deep hatred towards the saviors, as they apparently believe that there's nothing else but them and the saviors, and therefore they interpret all the strange people they encounter as one of the saviors under of Negan's law. This completely needless fight between of us started from their own misunderstanding and their lack of knowledge about the fact that there's still more than just them and the saviors left in this world. We cannot completely blame them for this bloodshed because of all of that what they have suffered in the hands of Negan and what has made them so cautious and distrustful towards the strangers they encounter like us. And they seem to have apparently even devoted their life for any kind of consequences, most likely to the death itself, to rid themselves from the tyranny of the saviors." Rick explained as calmly and simply as he could, having both witnessed and overheard how these people had spoken about the saviors.

"So you plan to call them to join us against them... despite this conflict between of us and them?!" Michonne questioned Rick, highly skeptical of the functionality and rationality of the idea, which Rick sensed immediately from his love's tone of voice.

"I know that it is a crazy and even risky... but, after Spencer and Olivia, my decision to prepare this time properly for upcoming war was as well the great risk which I however decided to take... thanks for your encouraging back in the jail... and to get rid of the saviors, I'm ready to take more risks... even the one like this."

However, Michonne remained still skeptical about this.

"You said that they apparently believe that there's only them and the saviors left in this world and that they do not either know or they do not believe that it is not true? So how you're exactly going to get them to believe a word you're gonna tell to them?"

"All what we need to do, is to show them that there's still more than just them and the saviors... we need to gain the trust of one of their own and to convince him or her to get the others to believe that there's still more than just them and the saviors and even the chance to finally rid themselves from the saviors. I bet they are more than willing to do anything and to agree with anything with us, so that we can all rid ourself from Negan once and for all."

"And how exactly we are going to do that?" Michonne asked suspiciously.

"I already got one of them in the garage, the french guy, who almost wanted to know something about us. I knocked him unconscious and left him into the garage tied up and wait for us. That's our advantage for the first step towards the truce and even an alliance between of us and them. That's why we need to get him as our captive back to Alexandria with him. We can in Alexandria's jail to question him and learn from him something about his people, and we need to gain his trust so that we can even convince him to help us to win over his people's trust and faith on us and also form the alliance between of us against the saviors... though we cannot promise them the future without Negan because we do not know how this is going to end." Rick said determinedly.

"So, help me to pick up these guys weapons, so that we can get them as the captive into our van and get out of here, before they come back." Rick urged Michonne and kept examining the dead bodies.

However, Michonne had another plans...

To ensure the safety of Alexandria and her family from the Grimes family, Michonne decided to finish what she had swore back in the garage before settling their trap for their attackers...

...and at the same time, in a way, ensuring that his love's crazy and risky plan worked as he planned a moment ago...

...Michonne picked from the ground the another belt with the grenades and was about to rush to the forest to go after the survived attackers.

However, Rick noticed this beforehand and reacted quickly by jumping up on his feet and leaping at the same time from the next to the body, of which he was just now examining, towards Michonne to grab nick in time from her arm to stop her from doing anything foolish act before she managed to reach out of his reach.

"MICHONNE, DON'T! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU..." Rick tried say to stop her

Until Michonne, with a hundred percently reluctant, unexpectedly turned around to Rick and delivered the hard kick with her left knee to his love's stomach.

The impact of Michonne's kick was enough to force Rick on his knees, panting heavily, holding with his arm from the spot to which Michonne had just kicked.

Rick was also quite surprised that Michonne, the woman he loved, even did so to him.

But as Rick peeked pantingly up to look at Michonne with the badly surprised and nearly with the shocked look in his faces, he saw the tear of remorse from Michonne's eye running along her cheek, as she with the remorseful look in her face slowly backed away from Rick.

"I did not wanted to do that, Rick. But I did to ensure Alexandria's, Carl's and Judith's safety... and maybe even your crazy and risky plan's functionality. Forgive me, Rick. I'm heartily sorry for doing this to you... I did not want to do that, but I was forced to do it... for the safety of our family. I'm so sorry, Rick, forgive me." Rick said with the remorseful and sorrowful tone before she turned away and disappeared into the forest.

Though his stomach still ached from the impact of Michonne's reluctantly made kick, still heavily panting Rick forced himself up on his feet...

...as he still looked at Michonne, who was right now reached to the border between of the yard and the forest.

"MICHONNE! MICHONNE! Goddamned! MICHONNE, DON'T! COME BACK! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY MIGHT BE STILL OUT THERE! MICHONNE!" Rick cried after Michonne, calling her to come back but in vain...

Michonne was already gone in the trees and probably out of the hearing range.

Rick knew that he gotta do something to save Michonne from her own foolishness... before she gets herself killed.

So... after the aches in his stomach from Michonne's fiery kick to his stomach slowly faded away and his breathing returned from heavy panting to normal, Rick quickly started to reload the weapons he needed, meaning his faithful Colt Python and his Norinco Type 56...

...before he stood completely up on his feet and, abandoning all the weapons, knives and ammunition behind he had gathered from the dead attackers, and rushed into the woods after Michonne... and hoped to reach to her before she does something stupid and gets herself killed.

And that was the last thing he wanted to happen... after Jessie's death and after his and Michonne's first kiss... to her.

But as Rick exited from the yard area, the french leader suddenly emerged out of the garage's blasted doorhole to outside - having managed to somehow free himself from the ties, to which Rick had mentioned having tied him up and left him to the garage - rubbing his aching head and managed nick in time Rick's rushing away from the yard area and disappearing into the woods...

...leaving the yard area as deserted and occupied by the dozens of _abominations_ attracted by the loud gunfire and wandering from everywhere as a small groups towards and gathering in the groups around of the dead bodies of the dogs and the attackers and started to feast with their... along with the several dead and often mutilated bodies of the attackers, who had reanimated as one of the _abominations_ and crawled to join to the feast with the dead dogs and their own dead fellow pack members bodies.

As the french guy realized that the van behond of still against of it leaning metallic roof plates was now unwatched and literally abandoned, he smiled at the perfect moment to complete the task until the end.

"Sauveurs stupide..." The french leader muttered as he returned to inside of the garage.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Sixth cliffhanger...**

 **Michonne and Rick have survived from the blast which destroyed the garage doors and once again outsmarted and -bested their enemies.  
But Michonne has left after the survived attackers and Rick rushed after her, leaving their van completely unguarded.**

 **\- What will happen next** **, we'll find out the next time.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya.**


	7. Chapter 7: No Winners Nor Losers

**CHAPTER 7: NO WINNERS NOR LOSERS.**

After departing from Rick and running away from the house...

Michonne rushed with her full running speed – completely ignoring her pain, her still but slightly bleeding bite marks from the dog's fangs and her limping leg, though the pain in her injuries and especially in her limping leg got her to grit her teeth while running through of the forests.

Though it was still dark and she did not know this forest, she did not needed the torche to enlighten her way forward, because of the fires all around of her and the fact that she saw somekind of weakly burning light between the trees and in a long distance away from him.

It was enough for her to know that to where she needed to head.

But the only thing what she needed to watch out were in the darkness lurking walkers...

...and possibly their attackers snipers placed up in the trees... or even their dogs.

Michonne kept running through of the forests, which greatly resembled the battleground in the aftermath of the bloody fight between of two warring armies in the war after the battle between of her, Rick and their attackers...

...but she still kept running through of still standing trees and those from the grenade explosions damaged and over to the ground fallen trees, which slowed her down on her progression in the trail of their attackers...

...through of burning and wrecked vehicles caught and tore apart by the explosions lying everywhere...

...through of the dense smoke from the fires all around of the forest and floating in the air between of the trees, bothering her eye sight...

...through of the flaming trees and bushes, which the explosions had ignited to fire from everywhere...

...and through of the dozens of dead bodies of their attackers lying everywhere in the ground either from the explosions burned, viciously mutilated or still in one piece.

And all of their weapons were either destroyed by the explosions but some of them were still in one piece and lying in the next to their dead wielders.

The grenades she and Rick had fired into the forest during of their attackers ambush, had indeed fulfilled their duty.

But Michonne didn't cared about it right now...

...especially when the survived attackers were still lurking out there.

Michonne kept rushing, without paying attention to look behind of her and waiting for Rick, who was unknowingly to her following her a short distance between of them away from her, to their attackers going direction, hoping to find their temporary camp from deeper of the forest.

And Michonne swore that once she has found their attackers temporary camp from the going direction to where she was all of time going, she will finish off every last one of them to ensure at first Alexandria's and her family's safety before the functionality of Rick's crazy plan...

...though Michonne still dared to question Rick's plan's functional after she and Rick had killed most of their attackers and their dogs, destroyed probably most if not all their vehicles and stole the weapons from their dead. It was sure that It was certain that if these people ever wanted to even negotiate with them, they will demand for it the high payment back for their dead and lost of their vehicles and weapons.

But... however this was going to end wit hthese people, from inside of her heart Michonne knew that she had to follow the man she loved to whatever end... to the war against Negan and uncertain victory or to the death.

She was at the moment starting to get closer of the source of the light she saw, as it increased even more and more.

But Michonne started to slow down, after she realized that she had maybe come too close of the light, which can reveal her presence to their attackers, and she needed to take them out by staying in the shadows both the night and the nighttime forest granted to her.

In the border of the light, Michonne quickly fell on her knees, hiding among of the bushes.

And once she had ensured that she was in the unseen position, she took her Mossberg MVP LR equipped with a telescopic sight and aimed with it forward at the source of light to check the odds with her weapon's telescopic sight.

She noticed that the source of the light came from the stop in next to the road. The light was coming from the ignited light pole's lanterns and which was also mixed with the lights of the cars' alarm lights, headlights and mostly with the lights of the spotlights to increase the light...

...of course with the risk that the light may lure the walkers out from the darkness of the nighttime forest.

She spotted through that there was one ambulance car and one police van standing next to each others with their backdoors open.

And she spotted than these seemed to be at least, less than or over than three dozen of arned attackers... However, it was difficult to say that were they just another packup troops of their attackers or the survivors from the two assaults... though their exact number was still unknown to her.

They seemed to have been gathered all around beneath of the light pole... and yet they also seemed to be focusing on to something in middle of their group, instead of even watching the area for the walkers or intruders.

They seemed to be even muttering something among of them.

Michonne was too far away from them to overhear that what they were discussing about with each others.

But whatever it was, Michonne was sure that it was all about the another attack against her and Rick.

It could mean that there could be even more than over three dozen of these attackers.

And it could mean that they could have even more dogs ready for attack, though she didn't heard any sound of growling.

However, Michonne knew that she had com etoo far to turn back anymore and she knew what she had to do to ensure the safety of their community, the safety of her family and Rick's plan's functional.

So, Michonne took the safety off from the gun and aimed with her gun at the light pole's lanterns above of the group...

...and fired!

She fired two shots...

...and both of them destroyed the lanterns, much to the attackers surprise.

Michonne also shot and destroyed with her gun at least two of the huge spotlights to reduce the light that she could hid herself better into the darkness, even though in this close of their camp without them to know.

As the shots were shot and the light pole and couple spotlights out, these people's tight group suddenly scattered and took their weapons and torches, aiming with them everywhere to find and kill the sudden attacker.

Michonne hoped that her sudden shots and ambush would have scattered their entire group all around so that she could find with her eyes their leader, who was possibly in middle of the group to explaining his attack plan's details to his men and was splitting the plan in parts as a tasks for his men before the attack.

And because Rick had mentioned that he caught one of the leaders back in the house's garage, Michonne assumed this another leader to be Billy, who had went missing after she and Rick had successfully managed to break free from their captors, who attacked them as the first wave, and killed them all with the help of their "watch dogs."

Though he went missing after Rick giving him the fierce punch to his faces, Michonne was sure that because he was not seen among the fallen, he had gotta be ran to the woods in order to avoid the gunfire.

 _Such of cowardly act_. Michonne though.

However, he plant didn't completely worked, because the tight group didn't scattered completely... only those did who were searching for her.

So... Michonne changed her position, from where she would get the better shot to scatter the group even more... far away from the aroundings searching people.

And she found one.

The perfect position, where the large bushes covered the ground and which offered to her the cover from these people's eyes along with the night's darkness, and densely growing trees offerend for her the protection against the gunshots.

Michonne aimed with her gun towards the main group's people and opened the fire at them...

...managing to kill with the clear... or more likely lucky... headshots at least four of these attackers...

...causing another half of them, but still not all of them, to scatter around in surprise. Most of those people among of them were those ones who had stood near of their four own Michonne had just killed...

...until someone of them spotted the flash in her gun's barrel as Michonne killed yet another guy with the clear headshot, thus revealing her location to this guy, who as an result warned the others of his group and started to fire with his gun at her direction...

...and the others started to follow their fellow group member's example and fire at Michonne's direction with the heavy gunfire.

Though the trees fulfilled their job by protecting Michonne against the heavy rain of bullets, Michonne knew that she had to change her position just in case if they do have more deadlier toys such like grenades, grenade guns, missile launchers, rocket launchers and miniguns, with which they could easily tear her protection apart.

She took another snipper position from close of the road, where the trees weren't growing as densely as in the first one, leaving her mostly uncovered and an easy target for these people.

However, Michonne positioned herself ready in the bushes and raised her gun, aiming with it at the main group still beneath of the light pole and killing with one clear and one lucky headshots two larger group members of them to get them to scatter away from around of Billy, who was supposedly in middle of them.

Her plan worked, and from the sudden deaths of two of their own badly surprised people started to scatter away from their own dead, and they nearly opened the center of their group... perfect for Michonne to deliver the finishing blow with either the clear headshot to Billy's head or then threw the grenade belt, with one activated, into the center of the group and finish off both the Billy and his main group.

However, because her current hiding spot was in the open and too close of these people's group, the yimmediately guessed that from where the shots came and immediately opened their heavy gunfire at Michonne's hiding spot.

However, Michonne managed to sneak away to find the another perfect hiding spot just in time when the heavy gunfire suddenly stopped, but it was immediately replaced by the stearm of fire from the flamethrower, which burnt the bushes.

Michonne had to crawl along the ground and beneath of the bushes, as all from the main group scattered members of this group started to open their heavy and fierce gunfire all around of the area and some of them, who were wielding the flamethrowers, shoot the streams of fire on the forest in attempt to burn Michonne whereever she was hiding.

And, much to Michonne's horror, these people indeed had more dogs... at least eight bulky dobermans, which these people put to track down Michonne with their sense of smell, as they holders held in their arms the handguns.

Because of the heavy gunfire aimed to everywhere, the streams of fire of the flamethrowers and now even the hounds of their own, Michonne was not left choice but to pick up the hiding spot from somewhere more higher out of the reach of their hounds and cover her trail somehow, though she knew that the dogs would be soon or later able to track down her scent from the ground.

But to where...?

* * *

Meanwhile back in the near house...

Rick, was at the same time in the middle of the devastated battleground near of the border of the yard area and the forest... armed with his faithful Colt Python and carrying both grenade gun and Colt M4A1 in his back.

He rushed through of from the explosions devastated battleground's...

...from the grenade explosions damaged and over to the ground fallen trees...

...burning and wrecked vehicles caught and tore apart by the explosions...

...flaming trees and bushes...

...and all of those dead burning, mutilated or still in one piece being bodies of their attackers lying everywhere...

...heading to that direction where he assumed Michonne had gone.

Rick called Michonne by her name... multiple times over from every direction from the devastated battleground... but there was no answer coming from her, which made Rick to worry even more for the woman he loved.

"MICHONNE!"

"MICHONNE!"

"MICHONNE!"

No respond.

Rick was desperate after having no respond from Michonne, but he quickly snapped out of it to watch his own back in case of the dead. It was very dangerous to wander at the night time in the forests, because in the forests at the night time can be anything stalking at the living people... walkers wandering as a single or in the small or huge groups, hostile groups of marauders and the dogs gone wild and feral stalking both the dead and the living.

Suddenly, Rick heard the sudden gunfire, which was coming from the forest in a long distance away from him... where he saw coming both the weakly burning light... plus multiple flashes among of this light... meaning the rapid, dense and heavy gunfire at everywhere.

Rick gasped!

Michonne had indeed done what she had planned or with the risk of her own life threatened to do...

...and what now under their attackers heavy gunfire and probably either pinned down or even killed!

Rick quickly started to ran towards the lights, placing his Colt Python into his case and took M4A1 as his primary weapon... loaded and ready...

...and he hoped that he wasn't too late.

* * *

Meanwhile...

After Michonne had covered her trails and her scent from the ground as best as she could to avoid getting tracked down by these people's hounds, Michonne quickly picked up the tree from nearby and climbed on it.

Though the glimbing was far away from being easy, due to her injuries from the dog's fangs.

But despite it, Michonne kept climbing, trying to ignore all the pain she felt in her sides and legs injuries.

It didn't took long from their hounds and their holders to arrive to right beneath of the tree Michonne was taking the cover from their eyes and the shelter from their hounds, as all eight of them were tracking her down in the foot of the tree.

Michonne could have drop the activated grenade in middle of them, but it could damage the tree as well and even cut the tree down to the ground, and in the worse case, the explosion could either kill her as well or reveal her location to these people... so, Michonne needed to think something else to best these people...

...which seemed to be in the area less than one hundred left... after her six kills.

 _How many they exactly sent against us? How many of them even are there?_ Michonne thought.

Michonne heard some snarlingm which wasn't coming from the dobermans beneath of her but more likely from the walkers wandering in the woods towards them, attracted by the gunshots...

...they started to become individuals at first and then in smaller groups, the number of which began to grew and grew even bigger and bigger as more and more started to come from everywhere, following the source of the loud gunshots, after every kill these people delivered to the walkers.

Even the dogs and their holders have stopped to search of Michonne when the walkers started to come from everywhere, and they all turned their entire focus on defending themselves against the walkers... and they even released their dogs to attack the walkers, pin them down by teamwork or brutal force and maul the walkers with their teeth and claws.

And from some whimpering, Michonne guessed that some of the dogs, however, had fell as victim to the walkers when they started to swarm at them from every corner and pinned them down with brutal force and began to devour them alive... at least two dogs and one holder experienced such of fate.

Suddenly... Michonne heard Rick's voice weakly in a distance away from her... calling her name.

Michonne realized that Rick was right on his way to here.

And yet he had not knowledge about the large number of the heavily armed enemies still waiting here... ready for the battle against any kind of enemy, either living or dead. And more less he had the knowledge about the walkers wandering from every corner of the area and the dogs nor their flamethrowers.

And even some of these people started to be able to hear Rick's coming this direction from the forest and they even started to aim their weapons... one wielding the flamethrower... towards Rick's coming direction ready to fire.

Rick was walking straight to the gates of the Hell!

Michonne knew that she had to do something to prevent Rick from getting killed...

...she was absolutely not going to lose him again like she nearly did back in the carneval area.

Michonne checked the area to find something she could use as her advantage to turn the tides or turn their enemy side's attaention away from Rick and back to their main base camp.

Michonne looked at the guys wielding the flamethrowers and the flamethrower tanks...and briefly the dogs mauling several walkers...

...and then the grenades on her belt.

These makings got Michonne the form the plan to take at least most of them down...

...even with the risk of getting under the heavy and deadly gunfire herself after revealing her location to these people and attracting more walkers here.

But, for Rick, Michonne had to take the action.

The flamethrowers streams of fire had consumed some trees trunks completely, causing them to fall over to the ground, thus opening the clear way for the grenades she was about to throw at them...

...and luckily for her, they were surrounded by the over couple dozen of their own people, who were firing at the incoming herds of the walkers, as the flamethrower-wielding guys fired the treams of fire at the walkers, burning them to death.

And in the another side of the area, they were doing the same thing... as the others, who were ready to shoot/burn Rick to death.

And so, Michonne cut with her katana the grenade belt into four pieces, each one of them having the two-three grenades, before Michonne took two larger ones of them into her hand and activated one of the piece of belt's grenades, before she threw one piece of the grenade belt hurriedly towards near of the road standing attackers... using the grenades weight to make them to pull the belt down.

And thanks to the large size of the herd incoming from the road, they were too busy to even notice the piece of the belt full of the grenades, with one activated, to land among of them, and right next to the flamethrowers-wielding guys.

The grenades eventually exploded, viciously and mortally mutilating those ones close of the grenades and towards the tanks flew sherds pierced the tanks from the flamethrowers-wielding guys... causing in the seconds the tanks to explode in middle of the two dozen attackers into huge flash of fire, consuming nearly everybody in close of them and some walkers as well... and also the trees and bushes were caught by the huge flash.

And as an result, all those who were caught by the flash began to run as the living human torchers - or if the fire had caught to their sleeves or tousers - everywhere in panic and crying in pain and some of them leaped to the ground and started to roll on the ground to get to suppress the fire, though it was often too late for them and they were either killed by the fire or in fire flaming walkers, which swarmed them from everywhere, pinned them down with their own heavy weight and ravaged them to death under the pile of the burning walkers...

...and all those ones, who weren't caught by the fire, fell either as victim to the walkers approaching after their attention was pulled away from the dead to the massive flash right next to them, which knocked some of them down at the mercy of the walkers, but some of them managed to retreat before were caught and killed by the walkers, whose swarm through of the wall of the flames towards these people.

Michonne then activated one of the grenades from two pieces of belt, and threw one of them at the dogs, who were about to get surrounded by the swarming walkers and one of them towards those dozen guys and the flamethrower-wielding guys... and getting herself quickly in cover.

The explosion tore both the dogs and the walkers apart, senting multiple pieces of flesh, bones, gutts and other body parts all around and forcing the dogs holders to retreat back into their camp base... and throwing the another belt full of grenades with one activated to among of those guys, who were still waiting for Rick's showing up though their attentions were caught by the explosion and the huge flash, was followed by the same explosion and the flash of fire, which consumed most of the people around of the flamethrower-wielding guy and ignited the fire to the nearby bushes.

Michonne, however, decided to save the last belt full of grenades for later, just in case if she still needed them.

And instead of them, Michonne took her gun and aimed with it towards the open area's another side standing guys with the flamethrowers.

Knowing well that the bullet is not enough to cause the tanks full of flammable liquid to explode unlike with the gas tanks, so Michonne aimed so carefully that she could even scratch the tank from its side and cause the liquid to leak from the tanks.

She of course wasn't as good sniper as Sasha, having got mostly only lucky shots in the urgent situations.

But, however, because the flamethrowers-wielding guys, as well as their colleagues around of them, had completely focused to kill from the forest in the massive waves incoming walkers, they wouldn't suspect anything before it was too late for them to react.

The target was perfectly in her aim...

...and it will not be heard by these people because of all of this loud gunfiring against the walkers and towards the source of the gunshots wandering walkers will cover it from these people.

And in addition, one of the flamethrower-wielding guys was standing still on her place... so the having the good aim and direct shot wouldn't be difficult.

Michonne aimed very carefully as she could with her gun at the guy's flamethrower's tank's right side and fired.

And, as she expected, the bulled scratched the side of the tank and caused the leak.

And though the flamethrower's wielder noticed the leak, it was too late for him to react to it in any way.

Because Michonne had immediately turned her gun's direction to the next flamethrower-wielding guy firing the streams of fire into the forest, burning the bushes, small trees and walkers.

This time... Michonne aimed her next shot to the guy's left leg's knee, knowing that what the shot will cause.

Michonne waited for a little bit, keeping her finger ready on the trigger and waiting for the guy preparing to fire the stearm of fire at the incoming walkers again.

And once the guy was about to do so, Michonne fired with her gun.

The shot flew through of the guy's knee, causing him to scream in pain and he fell over on his left side to the ground...

...and as he fell to the ground, he pressed in the process his flamethrower's trigger and fired the stream of fire towards his friend as he was trying to stop the leak in his own flamethrower tank... until he spotted the stream of fire coming right towards him.

The fire catched to the pool of the flammable liquid, instantly igniting it into fire and the flames followed the leak's liquid inside of the tank within seconds.

The flamethrowwer tank exploded into the huge fiery flash, once again, consuming under of its deadly flames all the people nearby of the flamethrower-wielding guy and some the walkers in the process. The flames also consumed the another from his knee wounded flamethrower-wielding guy as he tried to roll around in the ground, still firing the streams of fire to everywhere and accidentally burning his own people, and get out of the way before he was caught by the fiery flash and burned to death... and also his own flamethrower tank exploded into the fiery flash and consumed more people and more walkers...

...and both the fiery giant flashes ignited more bushes and trees into the fire and the and a forest fire spread quickly.

At least it was clear that now their gull attention was locked to the fires and through of the fire emerging flaming walkers and to get out of the area alive, so Michonne turned away from the flames and started to look around through of her gun's telescopic sight in the direction of the main group, in order to find Billy among of them and get the clear killing shot.

However...

The sudden explosion exploded very close of the tree where she was hidding, throwing the pieces of bushes and pieces of wood from the nearby trees, which took the impact fromthe explosion, to everywhere, caught her off guard and caused her to lose her grip from her gun and drop it from down.

The same sudden explosion also cut down two trees, the same trees whose trunks had took the impact from the explosion and damaged seriously enough to snap in half, and one of them was falling over towards the tree Michonne was hidding...

The falling trunk rubbed its own against Michonne's trees, cutting off the several branches and shaking the tree violently on it's way to the ground.

It nearly fell over Michonne, and if Michonne had not moved quickly away from under beneath of the fallen tree's trunk, it could have took her down with it and crush her to death between of the trunk's weight and the ground.

Luckily, Michonne managed to get away from beneath of the falling trunk, which ended up to snap the branch in half as it passed Michonne.

However, the violent shanking of the tree caused Michonne nearly to lose her balance and fall herself down from the tree, but by the reflexes, she managed to hold her grip and remained to hang from the branch for her dear life, before she climbed back to the branch she was sitting.

Michonne climbed back onto the branch, after which she wondering that from where did that sudden explosion came from...

...until she was caught under of the missile fire targeted at her.

Two of them, luckily for her, missed the tree where she was sitting, but they did explode as they hit to the two tree standing right behind of her and the explosions, which severely damaged their trunks, snapped them in half with their explosions.

One of the missiled hit to her tree's trunk a small distance above of her, snapping the upper part of the tree's trunk in half and shaking the rest of the tree violently.

As Michonne saw yet one last missile coming towards her location in the tree, she was left without the other choice and she jumped off from the branch just nick in time before the missile hit to the tree and exploded right behind of her.

Michonne was quite lucky that she was not caught by the huge blast of the missile nor getting hit by the deadly pieces of the wood - at least not lethally but instead slightly but still painfully, as she got some injuried from some in the high speed flying sharp-edged or pointed pieces of wood, getting one deep cut from one of them to her thigh, one stab-like wound to her side and one slight but long shash to her left cheek, causing her to grit her teeth in pain - but she was instead caught by her explosion's shockwave and roughly tossed aside into the bushes and fallen tree trunks... and among of the herd of the walkers...

...of which most of them spotted her on the ground and started to approach her from every corner, stretching out their dead grabbing hands and snarling in lust for flesh and blood at Michonne, as she was holding from the spots of her newly received wounds and rolled in the ground in pain...

* * *

Meanwhile...

Rick was halted back by the five sudden and massive fiery flashes coming from their attackers camp base, and which consumed lots of people and walkers and ignited the forest into the forest fire, which spread quickly all around and drove more walkers out of the darkness.

Rick looked at the massive flashes of the flames with the surprised look in his face... as well as the flaming people screaming in pain and running all around, before they got either killed by fire or eaten by the flaming walkers.

"Michonne!" Rick loudly whispered, knowing that somehow this was all Michonne's doings.

Suddenly, his attention was caught by the sudden explosions, which came from the between of densely growing trees from the near of the border of their attackers camp base, causing several of the trees to fall over to the ground... and Rick also saw several missiles flying between of the trees, before they actually hit to some of them and exploded them either in half or in pieces.

Rick did not need to guess twice that whom they were firing with the such iof missile-firing toys.

Rick quickly started to ran towards the camp base, with Colt M4A1 in his arms.

Rick indeed crossed paths with some of these attackers on his way to the camp.

Many of them were caught by the fire and running all around screaming in pain, so they did not pay any attention to him. However, Rick decided to at least to put them out of their misery, so he took his Colt Python and shot all those people, who were caught by the fire, into their heads, killing them instantly...

...using once again all eight shots of his Colt Python by killing eight guys caught by the flames...

...before he quickly get into the cover behind of one of the trees to reload his Colt Python, before he was able to continue his search for Michonne.

But those ones, who were caught by the walkers, Rick just passed them, due to the large number of out of the darkness emerging walkers, whuch he tried his best to avoid, even though they were coming from everywhere bot expectedly and unexpectedly.

He was, however, attacked by the walkers in the great numbers, who surrounded him nearly from every corner and streched their grabbing hands towards him to grab him, though Rick pushed the walkers out of his way and killed some of them with the ax he still had with him...

...and Rick was also under gunfire of four of these people, who have survived from the fiery flashes of the flames, and who had opened their fire - two of them with the handguns, one of them with the shotgun and the last one with the colf rifle - at him.

However, Rick managed to avoid getting shot by using at him approaching walkers as the shields, whose got most of the hits.

Though at the openings in the herd he was forced to open fire either at his attackers either through of the openings or over of the walkers heads... killing or wounding these four attackers and left them to be eaten by the walkers after they were dead.

Rick then turned his gun to forward of him and started to kill the walkers from front of him, but he didn't wasted the ammo to the single individuals but smashed their heads with his Colt Rifle's stern.

It didn't took long from Rick to get through of the herd - though they still followed him right behind in one big herd - to the borner of the camp base...

...only to cross the paths with three guys in middle of the burning camp, two of them wielding the grenade gun, with which they were firing at the forest - to the very same spot from the same spot where the first explosion took place - seriously damaging tree trunks and cutting some of them down with the exploding grenades, and thus causing dozens of sharp pieces of wood from the exploded tree trunks and the body parts of the walkers caught by the explosions to fly all around with the shockwave of the explosions...

...and one of them wielding the missile launcher, which he was at the moment leading with four fresh missiles, before he raised the weapon on his shoulder and aimed the missiles right to there where his friends had been firing their grenades.

It did not took long from Rick to realize that what, or more likely whom, these guys were firing with the missiles and grenades!

Knowing that this has gone too far to be stopped and hoping that it was not too late from him to take the action, Rick immediately raised his Colt Rifle at these two and prepared to fire with his gun at them to kill them, before either of them managed to fire any grenade or missile into the forest.

However, the missile launcher wielding guy quickly spotted Rick aiming them with his Cilt Rifle, and reacted to this by quickly turning his missile laucher at him and prepared to fire all his weapon's four missiles at Rick at once.

And as Rick realized that he was aimed with the missile launcher from the close distance...

"HOLY SHI...!" Rick cursed, as he quickly bowed down and leaped forward to avoid the missiles just nick in time as the missile launcher wielding guy opened fire at him and fired all missiles at once.

Two missiles flied over him...

...but as soon as Rick bowed down and leaped forward, the missile launcher wielding guy was quite surprised of Rick's sudden move, but quickly snapped out of it and reacted to this by lowering his missile launcher a bit more down and fired his two remaining missiles.

His two missiles hit to the ground, right in the front/among of the emerging herd's feet and right behind of Rick's back and it was followed by the huge explosion...

...and the two another missiles the missile launcher wielding guy's two first fired at Rick but missed him, ironically, hit to the heads of two walkers, largest ones in their size, and exploded in middle of the walker herd.

All four explosions mutilated viciously the entire herd in pieces and threw all blood, pieces of flesh and body parts all around.

The explosion also snapped one withered and hardened branch-like piece of wood in half, but the explosions shockwave had tossed the sharp-pointed piece twirling in the air towards these guys...

... luckily for them, two of them had noticed that happening beforehand and managed to get down just nick in time before the shockwave tossed the piece of whood towards them and it missed them by flying over them, but it, however, hit to another guy wwith the grenade gun, who was standing behind of them and pierced his head... sinking into his head through of his left eye and killing him instantly.

Rick was also caught by the blast, but not by the explosion himself, even though he was right next to the explosion's place, but he was instead caught by the explosion's shockwave, which violently tossed him in the air and forward and caused him to roughly roll in the ground... and lose his Colt Rifle in the process.

But after Rick's rough rolling along the ground eventually stopped and left him to lie in the ground, Rick started to climb back on his feet.

But climbing back on his feet was easily said than done...

...as Rick groaned in pain for several times after feeling the pain waves coming from the bad bruises he had got all around of his body when roughly rolling along the ground after being violently tossed forward by the explosion.

Rick also felt himself to be dizzy, which brough difficulties to stand up. Rick also felt nausea, in addition of a strong dizziness, and the painful headaches, which all together caused nearly to throw up to the ground...

...and not the mention the fact the explosions' loud sound had managed to deafened him as he heard everything now as a deep humming.

It took some time for Rick to recover from all of this and to stand up, but he was never given the chance.

Two remaining guys were angered of their friends death and they had attacked Rick, who had ironically landed nearly next to their feet after being tossed forward by the explosion and started to punch him and kick him violently to avenge their fallen friend - though the missile launcher-wielded guy was one to be blamed for that.

One of them first kicked painfully Rick to his stomach, causing him to grunt loudly in pain...

...before another one of them kicked painfully Rick to his left side, causing him to fall over to the ground...

...and both of them then grabbed from his hands and dragged him roughly up from the ground and then they tossed him roughly against the ground, causing Rick to fall too hard and painfully on his knees, thus causing him to grit his teeth in the pain in his knees...

...they both started to mercilessly beat Rick by punching for multiple times to his faces and stomach from both sides with the hard punches and kept doing it, wwith the intention to beat Rick to dead.

One of them, the missile launcher wielded guy, took then thick brass knuckles to his right hand.

"I'm gonna teach you the true meaning of pain, you fucking savior!" The man said with the venom in his voice, as he grabbed from Rick's shirt and draw his arm back, preparing to punch Rick's beaten and bloody faces so hard, which would either break his nose or break some teeth out of his mouth...

But before he was able to execute his strike...

"RICK!" echoed the familiar voice in the air as the guy's arm, which fist the guy was about to pull forward to punch Rick onto his faces with his thick brass knuckles, was suddenly chopped off from it's place... leaving the man to cry in pain.

Suddenly... as Rick looked up at the guy with the bleeding and amputated arm, the long and bloody blade emerged out from his chest in the place of the guy's heart, presumably having pierced his heard.

The another guy was shocked about that and instantly let go of Rick and stepped back for couple steps while reaching with his arms to his grenade gun, which he had settled to hang from his back.

And as the bloody blade was pulled off the dying guy's body, it fell over to the ground and revealed _MICHONNE_ \- covered by the blood and guts (both walkers and humans) and bruises and fresh scratches as well as her old one, but still alive and well though still limping - standing behind of the fallen body the bloody...

...and quickly turned her attention to the last guy.

Even though still limping due to her bleeding dog's bite in her leg, she quickly approached the guy as he was about to lower the grenade gun down at her and he prepared to press the trigger with his finger to fire the grenade at michonne, seemingly not caring about the fact that by doing that he would cause the deaths of all of three of them if he fires the grenade in middle of them.

However, despite her wounded leg and her limping and thus slow movement, Michonne was able to reach to the guy at first before the guy managed to press the trigger and fire any grenade at Michonne and Rick.

As soon as Michonne reached on a suitable close range, Michonne swung her katana with the hard swing from down to upwards, thuis knocking the grenade gun and it wielding hand out of her way, and swung her weapon over her head, ready to strike at her horror-stricken foe.

Michonne then executed the three hard and lethal swings at the foe, and...

...with the first hard swung from right to the left... Michonne sliced the deep - to the femurs reaching - cuts to the man's thighs...

...with the second hard swung from left to the right... Michonne slashed the man's stomach open, releasing the guts inside of the man's stomach and allowing them to fall to the ground on his feet...

...and with the third and very last one hard swung from right to the left... Michonne slit with her katana's tip the man's throat open, cutting his throat's jugulars and allowing the blood to bleed out from his throat with a high pressure...

...and finally, Michonne finished off the dying man by kicking him to from behind of the viciously mutilated and quickly to the lost of blood dying's man's back approaching walkers, whose quickly swarmed around of the man's body, pinned him doiwn and started to devour his body.

However, with his last breaths and by the reflexes, the mutilated and now devoured man managed to press the trigger of his grenade gun with his finger before he succumbed to his deadly injuries and started uncontrollably to fire the grenades with his grenade gun to everywhere.

Four of them hit to and exploded in middle of from the fire emerging and towards them approaching herds of flaming walkers, butchering the herds completely...

...one of them hit to beneath of the ambulance car and exploded, violently tossing the ambulance car aside and causing the several other vehicles to explode...

...and the tree last ones flew among to the trees nearly consumed by the rogue forest fire and the explosions snapped them - as well as the several others still outside of the spreading fire - in half and caused them to fall over to every direction... two of them falling over and smashing the ambulance car wreck beneath of their weights.

* * *

After killing these two guys...

Michonne was nearly about to fall out of the exhaustion of all this running and fighting for her dear life against all three enemies: these people, the walkers and the dogs while trying barely to stay alive in front of these people's superior weaponry.

Michonne squatted slightly and bowed forward, taking support from her knees with her hands as she panted heavily out of exhaustion, to which her slight but still continuously bleeding wounds and her limping movement due to her badly injured leg had also part.

Michonne even started to feel herself even a bit dizzy.

But because of this, Michonne failed to notice that one of their attackers was running towards her, holding the fire ax in his hands in attempt to strike with it mortally to Michonne's back, as well as three walkers, who passed Rick, were approaching and about to attack Michonne...

...only to be quickly spotted by Rick, who hurriedly draw his faithful Colt Python out and fired at the attacking man's legs, causing the attacking man to leap and fall roughly over to the ground and roll to the feet of the walkers, tripping two of them with his along the ground rolling body and catching the third one.

Michonne was snapped out of this to witness the walkers crawling or kneeling down at the man, pinning him to the ground and starting all together to maul the man and devour him alive.

And after snapping out of her exhaustion, which nearly cost her her life as three walkers were approaching her from behind of her back, Michonne turned around and swung her sword at the walkers, beheading all three at once.

"Michonne! This is not a suitable place nor time to have some breath!" Rick yelled, as he quickly stood up and grabbed the ax to his another hand as his extra weapon in addition to his faithful Colt Python.

Hearing Rick's warnings, Michonne looked around of her and realized that Rick was right.

The whole camp base was surrounded by the rogue forest fire and nearly completely overrun by the flaming walkers.

And their attackers, of which were not very much bust slightly less than thirty men left due to Rick and Michonne and the walkers, were scattered throughout the camp and were fighting for their life through of the walkers, abandoning all their bigger weapons and using their handguns and in addition some melee weapon, such like machetes, axes, hatchets, sledge-hammers, sharp-edged stock-shovels, pick-axes and and wooden stakes (from the vampire stories), both long-handled and short ones and one of them even used a chainsaw against from every corner at them approaching walkers as they were trying to make it to their vehicles and get out of here before the entire area is completely overrun by the walkers, leaving no any escape route to get out of here...

...and the only vehicles that were left were two the last police vans, with the room for only over one dozen guys.

These people four fiercely and each one of them killed at least ten walkers with his handgun and some melee weapon, before they were one by one surroiunded and swarmed with the huge herds of the walkers, pinned down by the force of numbers and mauled/devoured by the walkers...

...causing them to lose from their group no more than six people to the walkers.

The whole ground of the camp base was covered by the bodies of the dead people and walkers, which were either still in one piece or viciously mutilated or burned... but as the number of living people was decreasing, the number of walkers only increased by the fresh ones emerging from the fire or their own dead people coming back to life as the walkers.

Even Rick and Michonne were forced to fight against the walkers as well as these people to get out of here...

...but instead of running back to the woods, both of them - Michonne on the lead - were charging through of the swarming walkers heading towards the police vans in order to finish Michonne's querrilla attack upon these people to ensure Alexandria's, her family's and the functionality of Rick's plan.

Among of these escaping people, those ones who had managed to reach to the police vans, had took into their hands the shotgun and started to cover with them their own people's retreat to the van by firing shells at the walkers, smashing at least three walkers heads at once... or using the shotguns as the melee weapons against the too-close reached walkers.

The walkers, however, outnumbered these people's number with fifteen against one, and to avoid the risk of getting surrounded by the massive herd, four of them hurried to the seats of the driver and passenger to get the vans ready to take off... as several of them started to load themselves into their backsides... where the polices ussed to keep their prisoners before the wolrd ended.

Michonne killed dozens of walkers from every direction of her, beheading with every swung wit hher sword at least three walkers at once or amputating some legs of the walkers, making them cripple and causing them to fall over to the ground...

as Rick sliced the walkers heads in half with his hatchet and pushed several of them out of his way.

And seeing their enemies trying to get out of here and to leave them here... they both increased their speed towards the vans through of the herd... as the walkers behind of them were gathering together as a tight herd.

Michonne crossed path's with two of them, battling the walkers with the hatchet and shovel in addition of their handguns, which had probably already ran out of the ammo as they weren't using them...

...and reacted to this by lunging towards them and beheading them both one by one with her sword, leaving their severed heads and headless bodies behind to be devoured by the walkers following right behind of her.

Rick also encountered with some of them.

First two of them reacted to Rick's sudden emerge out of the herd by picking one walker from the herd and tossing them at Rick...

... but however...

...Rick, having a good experience of being thrown with the walkers back in the first days in the prison, quickly reacted this by grabbing to one walker and tossing it over to the closest walkers from the herd following behind of him and firing with his Colt Python at two others int otheir heads, killing them instantly...

...before Rick aimed with his Colt Python at these people and fired each one of them into their heads, killing them one by one and leaving their dead bodies for the walkers, but as he passed them, Rick threw aside his hatchet and grabbed from one of them Mossberg 590 shotgun (the same one he remembered Shane having wielded back in the Atlanta Camp to Hershel's farm).

Rick was then suddenly spotted by four member of this group and they raised their own shotguns at Rick, and before any one of them managed to open fire at him, Rick raised his Colt Python at them and fired all his remaining shots at them, killing all four one by one...

...though one of them, after getting shot by Rick and leaned against the closed backdoor of one of the vans, he by reflexes pressed the trigger with his fingers after his shotgun had turned towards one of his own and fired the shell through of his fellow group member's stomach... killing him... before dying himself to the gunshot wound he received from Rick.

And and after them, Rick started fiercely fire the shells at the incoming herd, killing with every shot two walkers at once.

Rick of course replaced the shotgun after he had used the first one with another one and kept firing with them at the walkers.

With one of them, Rick aimed to the driver's seat of one of the police vans, killing both the driver armed with the shotgun - as he emerged out through the door's window and was about to shoot him with the shotgun - by firing his heads off.

Rick didn't saw the reason to waste the ammo to two another one in the backside of the van, as they failed to close the backdoors as the entire herd swarmed inside of the backside of the van. Both of them were doomed, no matter how many walker heads they blew up with their own shotguns... until they received the first bites from the walkers to their legs and the rest of their bodies were following after them.

Replacing once again his empty shotgun with another one he took from the dead driver, who was now lying headless in the driver's seat, Rick opened the fire at the walkers, aiming them to their heads in the hope that the shells will kill more of them than just one at once.

And while doing so, Rick searched with his eyes Michonne from around, having realized that because of the multitude of the walkers and desperate attempt to not get shot from the shotgun or get the lethal bite from the walkers, they had separated from each other...

And so realized Michonne as well.

"RICK!" She called the man he loved as she searched for him with her eyes among of the chaos...

...as she fought the walkers and beheaded many of them three by three with her sword as they kept coming closer and closer, and doing at the same time her best to fight both against the walkers, her own exhaustion, plus her own slowly incoming dizziness and out of nowhere appeared pain in everywhere... mostly in her from the dogs fangs wounded leg...

...until she was attacked two of these people, armed with the fire ax and hatchet.

Despite having the walkers surrounded them from every direction, they surrounded michonne, but attacked one by one at her, probably arrogantly, believing that highly tired and apparently half-conscious woman with the sword is not long-lasting or difficult fight.

However, They both did underestimate the woman with the sword.

One of them lunged at her and raised his hatchet over his head in intention to slice with it Michonne's head open... until Michonne unexpectedly raised her katana's long bloody blade in the way of the hatchet and the hatchet's blade got stuck to Michonne's sword from beneath of the hatchet's blade.

The man was quite surprised of this but he didn't manage to react to this as Michonne raised her leg and kicked the man to his stomach, causing him to let go of his hatchet's handle and fall over on his back to the ground.

The man recovered from the kick quickly, probably because he had the chest armor which reduced the impact of the kick...

...which was the reason why the physical force of Michonne's own kick pushed her violently backwards ans brought her trouble to keep her balance on her badly injured and limping leg, and the hasty steps did not change the pain in her injured leg, causing her to grit her teeth in pain...

...but the guy she kicked over to the ground wasn't luckier than Michonne, because he had not time to get back on his feet before the walkers began to swarm in the huge numbers around of him, and after noticing him they gathered together around of him, pinned him to the ground and started to eat him alive.

Another one of those two, angered of his fellow group member's death, attacked her as Michonne finally managed to keep her balance...

...but Michonne managed to dodge the attacking guy's deadly swing with the fire ax, which could have either chop off her head or cause the lethal wound to her stomach, by bowing down away fro mthe way of the ax's blade...

...before she swung her sword from down to upwards towards the guy, chopping off both of his axe-holding arms as he was about to prepare himself to another and straight strike from up to down, and slicing off his faces as well... killing him instantly.

After killing both of these guys, Michonne started once again to search for Rick with her eyes, as she started to back off from the area as the walkers were about to surround her from every corner.

Suddenly...

As Michonne was about to turn her head to the overrun camp base's area, she was able to see the glimpse of something swinging right behind of her head...

...until something suddenly and unexpectedly stroke with the huge power to her temple. The strike was powerful enough to roughly turn Michonne's head to the another side and it was powerful enough to double her dizziness.

As her dizziness took over her body, Michonne turned with her last strenght her head a bit to the direction from where the impact had came from, and the last thing she saw before her eyes blurred, was Billy's grinning face in front of her own.

"Goodnight, sweetheart." Billy wished mockingly.

Michonne then dropped her sword to the ground and eventually and eventually fainted from the hard impact against her head and fell over to the ground.

But before Michonne did, Two Ton guy, who had been earlier sent back to the base camp by the french leader, grabbed from her unconscious and limp body by wrapping his thick arm around of her waist to prevent her from falling over to the ground.

"Quick! Get her into the sack and let's go then!" Billy said as he pointed with his finger at the huge black sack, which was hanging wrapped on Two Ton's belt, waiting to be used.

And by Billy's order, Two Ton then grabbed the large and black sack from his belt, unwrapped it and with Billy's help he opened it's mouth to open.

The sack in the question was from its design identical with those ones, which were used by some illusionists in the circus' sub trunk illusions before the End of the World. And because of which, the sack was big enough and had enough of room from inside of it for the woman like Michonne to fit inside.

Two Ton and Billy held the mouth of the sack open as larger man shoved Michonne's unconscious body half inside of the sack her head ahead, leaving her waist, her hands and her legs still outside of the sack's mouth.

Two Ton then grabbed with both of his hands from the sack's mouth and lifted it to up from the ground that it's bottom barely touched the ground, due to his size, causing unconscious Michonne to slid inside of the sack's bottom, creating the lump in the bottom of the sack.

And after Michonne inside of the sack, Two Ton then wrapped his thick fingers around of the sack's mouth to close it and threw the sack on his shoulder, before both he and Billy hurriedly hurried away from middle of the walkers towards the remaining van, Billy killing the walkers out of their way with Michonne's sword.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Rick was continuing the fighting against the herd of walkers at the same time as two another guys as well.

Although these two did not engage Rick in close combat but rather picked the walkers from the incoming and them surrrounding herd and threw them one by one at Rick in order to slow him down.

They didn't even seem to care if they were themselves surrounded and get bitted from their arms by the walkers. They have already got many bites to all around of their bodies, mostly to their arms, from their wirsts to their shoulders, and with the few ones to their upper bodies

However, Rick didn't care about that... and neither did them.

Rick just kept charging forwards towards his attackers with the hatchet he had took from one dead member of this group and sliced with it the head in half from every walker they threw at him.

Rick also watched his back, keeping an eye the distance between of him and the approaching herd... and he turned for a moment backwards to face all those walkers getting too close to him and killed them one by one.

However, Rick eventually realized that every walker he killed from the front and from behind only slowed him down and wasted both his time and his own strenght.

So now, Rick pushed himself hardly forward, pushing himself through of two walkers these two guys had threw at him.

The first one Rick pushed among of the herd, causing the walkers to swarmed around of him from every corner, to kneel down next to him and starting to eat him alive...

...and Rick threw his hatchet towards the last one, who was trying to get his handgun out of his case and to shoot Rick, only having in the air twirling and towards him coming hatchet to slice his head open, killing him instantly.

After killing them, Rick quickly overlooked over the walkers head and trying to find Michonne with his eyes.

Oddly to him, Michonne had disappeared like ash in the wind.

At least Rick knew that Michonne will never abandon him to death, As well as he himself would never abandon her to death.

But the only problem in this situation was that he didn't know was Michonne still alive and fighting for her life still in the overrun camp base of these people or in the forest... or was she then got killed by those walkers swarming everywhere.

Rick then picked from the ground another shotgun and was about to fire with it at the walkers, until...

"YO, RICK!"

Rick heard someone calling him by his name, which he recognized as the voice of...

"BILLY?!"

Rick turned around to look in the direction of the last remaining police van, where he saw a huge and obese man firing at the herds of the walkers with the minigun trying to keep them away from the caar and the remaining men, mutilating and killing dozens of walkers from the entire overrun camp base, forcing Rick to get down to avoid getting shot from the minigun's bullet storm...

...and he saw three remaining men tying up with the rope the mouth of the sack close, in which bottom was strangely yet ominously the large lump just like someone was inside the sack, before they lifted the sack up from the groun and threw it inside of the backside of the van, before they too grabbed to their weapons and started to fire with them at the herd.

And then, Rick spotted Billy, who was standing on the roof of the van and looking at Rick.

"Look what we got in the sack! Or more likely, look what I got to prove to you that what we got in the sack which you presumably noticed!" Billy shouted as he revealed the long object from behind of his back...

...which Rick, much to his shock, recognized as Michonne's katana.

They had got Michonne!

"LET HER GO, NOW!" Rick shouted back, as he moved forward and raised his shotgun at Billy to kill him, until he was halted by with the gunfire aimed in front of his legs by one of these remaining men halting the herd with the gunfire.

"And I don't take orders from the fucking savior scum, you prick!" Billy shouted, or more likely, spit back at Rick. "All I can let go is only her sword, but I keep the girl. She will be taken to Dog House to be punished with the high price for trespassing to our territory and killing us."

Rick was then snapped out by several from behind at him incoming walkers. Rick smashed with his shotgun's stern the first one's faces, before he opened fire to the few ones too close, blasting their heads off one by one...

...before he turned back to Billy.

"Then take me with her too!" Rick suggested, worrying for Michonne's life because she did not seemed to be struggling inside of the sack, and in order to get to these people's headquater oddly called as the Dog House, in hope to get there to discuss with them... though it would be rash, foolhardy and even extremely dangerous act to get inside of the base, where everybody inside will believe every outsider as one of the saviors.

However, much to Rick's dismay, Billy refused.

"And why should I, prick?! We already have enough of just one to be punished for trespassing into our territory! Besides, you're already punished! These _abominations_ all around of you will handle the dirty work for us in your case, while we punish with our own way your pretty girl!" Billy said, with quite mocking tone.

Billy then threw Michonne's katana towards Rick, with the intentions to either hit him with it or wound his badly that he would be an easy targed for the herd of the walkers.

However, he missed as one of the walkers got in the way and his occipital was sliced by Michonne's katana.

However, Billy did not mind this.

"Say goodbye to your girl, prick! I can ask her before her punishment to take greetings from me to you when you meet each others next time in hell, WHERE ALL OF YOU SAVIOR SCUM BELONG TO!" Billy shouted at Rick with the threatening manners.

Billy then jumped off the rooftop of the car and get into the driver's seat.

"GET IN, BOYS! WE'RE OUT OF HERE! LET'S ROLL OUT!" Billy shouted to the others.

One of them was caught off guard by the walkers as he was about to get into the van, until the walkers swarmed over him, pinning him down on his stomach to the ground and started to devour his back and his head's left side.

But Two Ton and one of them managed to get into the backside of the van and closed the doors behind of them... and the remaining one hurried ot the passenger seat.

"NO!" Rick cried, as he pushed himself harder forward in order to stop the van, before it gets away, with Michonne inside of it.

Rick started to even fire at the van with his shotgun, in order to damage it so badly that can't take off.

However, with every shot, the walkers were in the way and took most of the shots to their upper body, which did not killed them.

And suddenly, Rick heard the van's engine starting to go on...

...until it eventually moved and drove towards the road, leaving Rick in middle of the fires and the flaming walkers.

"No! No! NO, MICHONNE!" Rick cried as he realized that they were getting away with Michonne as their hostage.

Rick opened the fire at the van with his shotgun as the van was slowed down by the still-living and incoming or in the ground lying already dead walkers, but he only progressed by shooting the heads off from the walkers between of him and the van and the distance between of his and the van grew to enlarge.

And when the shells ran out...

...Rick quickly picked up from the ground the hatchet... and pulled Michonne's sword off from the dead walker's head...

...and hurriedly started to push himself forwards through of the walkers, pushing them out of his way or killing them, while trying to desperately to catch the van... though he himself knew that it was hopeless.

Rick then heard from a distance the sound of horn, which was coming from the road right before the police van possessed by these people managed to reach ot he road... and as Rick turned his attention to the road, he spotted the lights of the van coming towards the area.

And as the van emerged to the next of the stop in the road, Rick noticed the fact that this one looked oddly identical with their own, which he and Michonne left behind with that french man to the house...

...until Rick suddenly spotted that there was some one sitting in the driver's seat of the van as it slowly passed the flaming area... and it was not until then the driver turned his head towards Rick, revealing himself for Rick.

And Rick, much to his confusion and anger, recognized the driver of the van, who happened to be no one else than...

...the same _**french man**_ he had managed to knock out and capture back in the garage of the house... but who seemingly had managed to somehow escape from the ties with which Rick had tied him up in the garage.

From this sudden and shocking fact, Rick realized that the van the french man was driving was, much to his shock and anger, his and Michonne's own van with all of those food, supplies and weapons from the carnival area...

...and with them went also his deal with Jadis and the scavenger!

"Au revoir, connard!" The french man wished for Rick with the mocking tone as the van with all of those with the hard work earned goods he stole disappeared to the forest, the police van with Michonne inside right after their own van.

Rick could not believe this! This was bound to be some sort of a nightmare! He had lost everything! The van, all those goods, food and the weapons from the carnival area! He had lost Michonne to them... and now... he was all alone in middle of the BLOOD-RED FIERY HELL FULL OF UNDEAD!

" ** _NOOOOOOOOOO!_** " Rick let out in the air echoing, dramatic-sounding but with one hundred percently serious cry for everything he had just lost...

...before Rick went into the pure berserk rage and turned around to face the entire herd on his own.

 _The fires filled the air space and the dark forest with the blood-red glow..._

 _...the bloody beheaded heads and severed body parts flew in the air..._

 _...blood blew and the guts flew in the air..._

 _...Rick's dramatic shouts in pure berserk rage echoed in the night sky..._

 _...more walkers were incoming..._

 _...Rick blasted, smashed, sliced and beheaded the heads..._

 _...the ground was covered by the blood and mutilated bodies..._

 _...as Rick, without the care about the exhaustion nor his skin's own safety..._

 _...kept fighting against the entire herd despite being surrounded by the hundreds of walkers through the entire night!_

* * *

 **Four hours later**

* * *

When the dawn began to shine...

The rogue forest fire had started to calm down, leaving the burned forest left from the firestorm Michonne had caused the last night...

And the entire ground in the abandoned camp base was covered by the massive layer of the walkers, the entire herd from the last night, with the hundreds of walker heads either blasted off with the shotguns, sliced in half with the hatchet or beheaded with the sword.

and among of the dead walkers was also viciously mutilated walkers from the explosions.

The deep silence had landed upon the area...

...and there was not even one single walker nearby.

They were all dead...

...though there was still some of them still alive, who were twitching in the ground.

Some of them, the cripple ones, were snarling crawling in the ground over of the carpet of the dead walkers, like they were desperately and hurriedly heading all to the one spot in the area.

These walkers had also stretched their grabbing arms towards forward like there was something moving in the area, which had caught their interest and for what they were all from all different directions heading.

And it indeed had.

There was one deer walking peacefully through of the dead walkers, but by its instincts, it stayed away from the crawling ones, who were trying to crawl at the animal and grab from its legs to pin the animal down and to be eaten by them, as it continued its way through of the area.

The deer also passed the many different sized piles of the walker bodies all around.

And the deer just kept moving.

Until, suddenly, the deer's head jumped up by its instincts, like it had just sensed something stalking it around.

However, the deer had no time to recognize the danger before the bulled fired out of nowhere pierced its neck...

...killing the animal, as it fell to the ground.

And after the animal had been fallen over on its side to the ground...

...some one suddenly pushed the half of the pile of walkers off in one of the piles of the dead walkers bodies.

It was Rick, Rick Grimes...

...fagged out and covered by the multiple bruises and lots of walker blood and guts and He had the limbs rigid, some places sore, and he had not very good feeling from the entire night lasted bloody and exhausting fight with the walkers and from sleeping the rest of his night under the pile of the dead walkers in order to not attract more walkers while sleeping...

but he was still alive and unharmed by the walkers claws nor teeth.

Ricck slowly stood up on his feet, which were really rigid from the last night's battle and he felt dizzy in his head, due to the stale scent of the blood of the dead walkers... which had nearly caused him to lose his track of time... as he didn't knew how long he had fallen asleep or was now the morning or middle of the day.

But as Rick's head get slowly more clearlier after catching some fresh air of the morning, Rick started to remember what had exactly happened back in the last night in the very same place in middle of which he was standing.

Rick remembered the rogue forest fire and all those flaming walkers all around of him... which made Rick to wonder that how in the earth he had managed to survive from the such of dead trap in middle of the herd without reveiving any bite from them.

Rick remembered the french guy he had managed to knock out and tie up back in the now-destroyed house's garage, before he had realized him having somehow escaped from his bounds and escaping with the stolen van.

Rick remembered the stolen van with all of those goods, food and the weapons he had managed to receive from the carnival area before the last night's mess and blind bloodshed between of these strange people and him and Michonne.

And Rick especially remembered that they had kidnapped Michonne in middle of the fiery and hellish chaos, having shoved her into the sack, throwing to the backside of the van and escaped from the overrun area with her as their hostage.

And it was certain they would no longer come back, because they probably believe he was dead, killed by the overwhelming and overnumbering herd, and now they were probably planning something and somekind of "punishment" for ichonne in the place, they called as Dog House.

The biggest question for Rick at the moment was...

...WHAT NOW?

However, Rick found out himself hungry, and spotted the dead deer lying in the ground - which was ironically killed by the pistol he had with him in case for the walkers or any other hostile people, until it had got jammed and fired the bulled from beneath of the pile beneath of which he had either fainted or fell in sleep and which was ironically waked him up - and which was now surrounded by the incoming crawling walkers.

Not wanting to lose the deer, which Rick had selected for breakfast, to the walkers... Rick quickly picked the deer's body up from the ground and smashed every walker's head by smashing them one by one by stomping on their heads under his foot.

And after that, Rick looked with his eyes the perfect place, where he could start skinning the deer to remove all the walker blood from its fur, after which he could start to make a fire and begin to roast the deer's meat.

However, he suddenly heard more walker snarling in the area, and started to look around to see that from where the sounds were coming from.

Rick then quickly spotted a few walkers, which had surrounded the wrecked ambulance car smashed in half by the fallen tree during of the battle with the walkers and these people... just like there was someone inside in the ambulance car's wreck.

And whatever it was, Rick had to find out that who was inside of the wreck of the vehicle... especially after having experienced the one sleepless night filled with the hostile people, aggressive dogs and the massive herd of walkers.

But he had still to take care of the walkers at first before he was able to check inside of the vehicle.

Knowing that he had not quite much of strenght to take out the walkers in the physical combat, due to his still rigid limbs and sore places in his shoulders...

...and not willing to draw more walkers close by gunning the walkers down with his reloaded faithful Colt Python...

...and knowing that it will cost him his breakfast...

...Rick started to walk towards the wrecked ambulance car and the walkers around of him, carrying the deer's body in his arms and he approached the car slowly.

Rick then whistled to get the walkers attention away from whoever inside of the wrecked vehicle to him.

It worked and with the exception of one individual, the rest four started to walk slowly and hungrily snarling towards him.

And as the walkers were close enought, with all strenght he had left from the night, Rick tossed the deer towards the walkers, which weight took all four down on their backs to the ground.

This worked as well as the walkers, immediately losing their interest about Rick and focusing their all attention to the deer Rick just tossed them and began to tear the lifeless deer's body into pieces like the hyenas with the fallen gaselle.

As all four were out of the way, Rick continued the rest of his way to the wrecked ambulance vehicle, and get rid from the last one walker snarling to some one inside of the wreck with the stap to its head from behind.

And after the walker was dead, Rick peeked inside of the vehicle...

...and to his surprise...

...Rick found from inside two still living people, who were trapped under of the fallen tree's branches and the tree's weight - one of the was pinned down against the overturned ambulance car's inside wall by the bramch, which pressed the lucky survivor from the chest and another surivor's neck had got stuck between of the wall and the branch, pinning the survivor down - and they were both nearly unable to move nor get out from there on their own.

However, Rick recognized these two people immediately.

One of them, Hispanic-American teenager girl, with very long black-purple hair with two purple-headed, and freely hanging ponytails reaching behind of her bare thighs, with cape-like blood-red hood and with purple bikinis and black women's denim shorts and brown women's boots, leaving most of her upper body and her legs bare...

And another one, Asian-American man with the riot suit, with the black mohawk and with the vicious-looking dog tattoon on his faces.

Zoe and Jackie, from Billy's group who had captured them back in the house before the bloody battle between of two sides.

They were probably accidentally left behind by Billy and the rest in the rushing hurry to get out of here before the whole place would be overrun... and just like in Rick's case, these two must have been spent their entire night in here trapped under of the tree.

Both of them struggled to get out from under of the tree's messing branches...

...until they both suddenly spotted Rick's faces emerging from the outside of the vehicle and from behind of the fallen trunk.

Both of them created the looks of the deep and pure hatred towards Rick... but they also realized that they were both helpless and defenseless in front of Rick, whom they still believed to be one of the saviors.

But Rick saw also some unbelief in their eyes, which was just like as if they had not ever before lost to anyone in the battle, due to their superior toys, their great numbers of people and their own war dogs, or then they are not just accustomed to lose before.

"You won, fucking son of a bitch! You killed them! All of them! You and your black cow burned our camp base to the ground and you killed more of us! And I though that _HE_ occupied his outposts with the large groups of unspeakably pigs, pathetic cowards and stupid school-bully minded animals playing with the big boy's toys... and we were defeated by two mother fuckers... A MERE DUO!" Zoe spit in complaining way, openly expressing her apparent hatred towards the saviors, as she described them in ways that perfectly fits to the Saviors.

Rick had to admit that the girl was more than right, after having experienced or heard the ways how the saviors treats the other people of the other communities.

"DO IT!" Zoe suddenly cried as she looked with the hatred at Rick.

Rick looked at Zoe quite surprised of her sudden loud voice.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT OR WAITING FOR, YOU STUPID FUCKING PRICK?! JUST DO IT! Finish us off, you fucking coward! Shoot us into the heads with your fucking Colt Python and finish your victory! You fuckers may have won today, but mark my words, that every kill from our two hundred soldiers only increases our hatred and vengeful desire to avenge our dead! One day, we will put your pathetic people on their knees before us! We will piss to your pathetic bodies! We will feed your bodies to our dogs! We will make you to fear the might of the _STREET DOGS_ and pathetically beg the mercy from us! Maybe not today nor tommorow, but one day we will! Live so long that you can see it!" Zoe spitted.

"DO IT, you motherfucker!" She sternly added.

Rick a bit hesitated... after hearing that he and Michonne had killed nearly all from their people, whose number was revealed to be a bit over two hundred before their attack, leaving only Zoe, Jackie, Billy and his escaped men the only survivors from the attack...

...and only because these people did not see them anything else but part of the saviors and Negan's cult, of which they cannot apparently tolerate on their territory.

And Rick could not blame them for it... and he even felt sorry for these people though they just tried to kill him and Michonne... decause it was obvious that just like he did, these people also desperately wanted to get rid of the saviors and their tyrannical rule, even though they were not so desperate under of their rule, due to their superior weapons and strong attitude and desire to declare the war against them.

 _Too many has already died for one night, and only because of their false beliefs about us,_ Rick thought.

However...

"As you wish." Rick eventually said, as he pulled out his Colt Python and placed it's barrel on Zoe's forehead, taking the safety off and preparing to execute Zoe with one shot into the head... as Zoe still looked at Rick with the coldly sharp glare like the ice at Rick's eyes.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Seventh cliffhanger...**

 **Michonne had been kidnapped by these people and taken away. Rick and Michonne's van has been stolen by them. Zoe and Jackie are left behind by their own group by accident and in hurry and are both now at Rick's mercy.**

 **What will happen next to Michonne and to both** **Zoe and Jackie... And w** **ill Rick either shoot and kill both Zoe and Jackie as they wished Rick to do so or will he spare their lives? W** **e'll find out the next time...**

 **Man, writing this chapter nearly took from me forever... so much details in order to make perfect story.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya.**


	8. Chapter 8: Not friends nor enemies

**CHAPTER 8: NO FRIENDS BUT NO ENEMIES NEITHER**

"As you wish." Rick said, and he pulled out his Colt Python and placed it's barrel on Zoe's forehead, taking the safety off and preparing himself to execute Zoe with one shot into her head by her death wish.

However, despite being the edge of the death, Zoe locked the knife-sharp and cold glare at Rick's eyes.

And it was then, when Rick halted himself and his finger from pulling the trigger and firing the lethal shot with his Colt Python.

Rick hesitated to pull the trigger and kill the trapped woman and her trapped companion with the clear headshots out of mercy... or as their own death wish.

This death wish, of which both of these people willingly wished for themselves without the single sight of fear of death in their eyes, even though neither of them has even been hurt mortally by the bite or lethal gunshot, quite surprised Rick.

Because in this current world, death either from the walker bite or from the lethal gunshot had become part of everyday life, and most from the first days of outbreak survived survivors mostly tried to evade the death without the knowledge of when their time to die has come.

And because of that, there weren't many people who actually weren't afraid of death... but there was more often those who are afraid of death so much that they are ready to do anything only for themselves to survive, even with the cost of turning from once the good and honest people into villanous and others hurting people, such like Gareth and his cannibalism hobbying people of Terminus or even some now-dead people from their own group like Nicholas and Carter for getting Noah killed and nearly killing both Glenn and Eugene.

But now Rick had faced face-to-face the people, who do not after being defeated start pathetically ask for mercy after trying themselves to kill Rick and his group members - like many people had already done to Rick or anyone of his group's members during their survival from the prison to Alexandria - but were actually willing to die more than living.

They were like nearly wishing to throw their life away as if the life itself had no meaning for them.

And no wonder to Rick if these people wished the death more than life itself, if the Saviors had the bigger part of making these people to psychologically appreciate death and dying more than a life itself that had apparently no significance for them in any way.

This reminded Rick about Oscar he met back in the prison with the other prisoners.

And Rik remembered well Oscar's look in his eyes when he was held down with the gunpoint after Rik had killed Thomas for trying to kill him twice and apåarently left Adrew at the mercy of the walkers inside the prison.

Rick remembered well that Oscar had not back at that moment showed any sign of fear and he had calmly told him that he had never begged for his life before, and that he wasn't going to do it now.

And after that, he had just simply told to Rick to Do what he needed to do."

Rick saw now the very same look in this woman's eyes.

The moment was awkwardly silent and tensed between of the man with the Colt Pythin and thus upper hand and the woman in the edge of the death.

Zoe clearly saw that Rick was hesitating to fire with his Colt Python into her head.

"What are you waiting for, you fucking prick?! Just kill us!" Zoe angrily demanded.

"Or are you two scared of the ultimate threat we just told to you to really happen to you and your fucking people?" Jackie taunted.

Rick of course a bit considered of killing Zoe and Jackie right her and right now, but quikly called himself out of it and reminded himself by remembering that his beloved Michonne has been captured and that their precious cargo from the carnival are has been as well stolen by these people...

...and the fact that Rick has been told by them that he and Michonne had penetrated their territory, he did not know where the headquarters of these people was correctly and whether more people were here guarding the borders of their territory like in the packs of canine mammals.

However, now when these two were left behind by their own people, Rick quickly formed the plan...

...and even though remembering well that what happened back in Grady Memorial Hospital back in Atlanta during of the very same situation, Rick knew that he had no other alternate choices but just do this.

And then, much to Jackie's and Zoe's surprise, Rick took his Colt Python's barrel off Zoe's forehead, turned his guns's safety on and placed it back into his case.

"No. I'm not going to kill you." Rick calmly said to the duo.

Zoe and Jackie, both shocked and surprised of this sudden act, looked at each others for a moment, before both of them turned to look at each others.

However, Jackie's shock and surprise turned into pure hatred towards him.

"Oh, then what you're doing to us? Are you going to tie us up and take us with you to your filthy factory for either interrogationed by your fucking emperor-pretending fucker, to take us to be burned in the factory's furnaces or have our heads to be smashed by that emperor-pretending fucker's baseball bat?" Jackie tauntingly asked from Rick.

However, Rick did not payed much attention to Jackie's taunts but instead turned away from under of the fallen tree trapped duo and started to check out the inside of the ambulance car.

And doing so, Rick soon realized that it was far away from being just mere ambulance car but more likely the arsenal from inside.

There was still several boxes, where was a few grenades, missiles, various handguns and loaded barges left.

And on the wall of the ambulance, there was hanging several weapons such like: Heckler & Koch G36K, MP5KA4, HK91 and MP5A3, Mossberg 500, Model 464 and Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser", Norinco Type 56 and Type 56-1, High Standard K-1200 Riot Deluxe Shotguns, Colt M4A1, M4A1 Carbine, M16A2, M60, L85A1 Rifle, Winchester Model 1894 rifle, Winchester Model 1300 shotgun, Mini Uzi, PM-98. Remington 870, M16 rifles, Norinco Type 56 and Type 56-1, IMI Tavor CTAR-21, M1 Carbines.

There was also couple Airtronic RPG-7 as well as a few of Rocket launchers, DefTech 37mm launchers one SBD M136 AT-4 and portable minigun...

...there was even couple miniguns with stand next the backdoors of the ambulance car, probably in case if the car is under the ambush and is chased.

"Nice selection of toys." Rick commended such of arsenal.

Rick also knew that this was of course the small part of the entire arsenal these people used against him and Michonne, though at the moment, most of them were either still lying all around of the battlefield or destroyed by the explosions or fire.

Rick then started to check the ambulance car's state and damages.

The tree had of course smashed the roof of the backside of the ambulance van, but not completely in half... like through of miracle, despite the tree was large and thick, plus heavy.

Rick also went to look beneath of the ambulance car to check that was there anything which could have damaged after the tree had smashed the ambulance car beneath of its weight.

There was of course several damages and the car itself seemed to be bend downwards in the middle, right beneath of the tree's weight, but the drive shaft beneath of the ambulance car had somehow managed to survive... that's another wonder.

Rick considered the things for a while.

Though the vehicle might be itself: Although the vehicle itself may be damaged from its backside, that doesn't mean that some mildly damaged spots of the vehicle cannot be repaired. The amaged parts were always possible to replace with a new parts, slightly damaged sites could still be repaired and and survived spots to check over... before the vehicle could be used again.

Back in the days before the World's End, Rick had many times over checked his own car's state from above and beneath... and even had to himself fix the leaks or damages his car had suffered.

Ambulance car could be a bit more challenging, but he could not do anything except look and do what he could and then give his judgment to the wrecked ambulance car... that whether it is still possible to drive the ambulance car or whether he has to look for a new vehicle - more rather delivery van - for himself and for all of these weapons these people has.

Luckily, Rick relieved that there was no need to go to look for another vehicle if the ambulance car is too damaged to be repaired and for driving with it anymore, as Rick spotted the undamaged and large van standing next to the road.

So, Rick decided to go to work and check the ambulance car at first, because the ambulance car, from all from the rogue forest fire survived cars these people left behind the last night's fight, was the only one who could carry the large number, maybe most if not all, of the weapons these people left behind of them or were either destroyed in the explosions or in the fire.

But first, he had to get rid of the tree itself.

And by the another luck, there was the chainsaw in the ambulance car as well as the protective classes. Maybe for to cut down the trees... or for something very nasty.

So, it was time to get rid of this tree lying over the ambulance vehicle.

But soon, when Rick opened the cars backdoors...

"Hey! Hey you! prick! Yeah, you fucking savior prick right there! One question; How long it takes from one unspeakable, dirty and pathetic fucking savior to kill us already?" Jackie asked from Rick with taunting voice.

Rick tried to ignore those taunting words, as he moved inside to grab to the chainsaw.

However, Jackie was not done yet.

Seeing that his question seemingly had no effect to Rick, he tried much harder...

...like he was with the risk of the death wish trying to irritate Rick with his taunting questions, so that Rick's tolerance - which Jackie knew was extremely shorter with the saviors like unmatured school bullies does - will ran out that Rick would finally snap out in anger and kill them right here right now.

"And another question; How many times it would take from that emperor-playing king of fuckers to burn your faces off with his flatiron?"

Rick didn't react to this in any way.

"How many pathetic savior fuckers - and how many fucking saviors' teddy bear soft fists - it needs to beat your fucking face into the state like the squeezed can?"

Rick still didn't react to this.

"Do you know how long you have to listen that _annoying... mind torturing... in the ears echoing... the mother of all nightmarish scores..._ Easy Street so that it can break you?"

Rick kept ignoring Jackie's words, focusing only to trying to turn the chainsaw on.

"How many sandwiches filled with the dog food those fucking dicks will feed you after they got you into their hands and places you in custody?"

Rick still didn't paid any kind of attention to Jackie, thus causing Jackie to lose his patience.

"HEY! ARE YOU DEAF, YOU FUCKING DICK!" Jackie yelled at Rick.

"DO YOU IGNORE EVEN YOUR OWN FUCKING EMPEROR-PLAYING BOSS LIKE THIS, DO YOU?! HUH?! THEN ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION!"

However, Rick still kept ignoring him.

But despite his best efforts to ignore Jackie's taunting questions, they began but certainly partially work.

As Rick was trying to get the chainsaw to work, he tried his best to ignore Jackie's taunting questions, though his mental tolerance was slowly draining out after hearing every taunting question coming from Jackie.

Unaware of this, Jackie raised his voice in the next question.

"HOW LONG YOU BELIEVE ITY WOULD TAKE FROM YOUR EMPEROR-DICK, UNTIL HE EVENTUALLY GETS TIRED OF YOU AND EITHER CHAINS OR PIERCES YOU ALIVE TO HANG ON HIS FENCES AS ONE OF HIS ROTTEN GUARD DOGS?!"

However, Rick wasn't the only one who was annoyed by Jackie's taunting questions, and she turned to Jackie.

"Jackie! Knock if off, pal! You're just wasting your own breath to that pathetically coward asshole, who is so coward that he does not even dare to lay a single finger against you..." Zoe scolded Jackie with the annoyed tone, until she turned her head back at Rick.

But however, Rick's tolerance lasting for a quite long against Jackie's mocking questions slowly started to impresse Zoe.

 _...but that's weird. This one savior has a quite long, maybe even longest tolerance against insults than the previous ones I have faces many times over within our territory. Usually after hearing even a single annoyance by insulting words or_ _defiant_ _experience in the face, the savior bastards always ends up bullying with the physical violence the one who had insulted them. But this one doesn't. Is this guy then either a new guy among of the saviors,_ _deserter after realizing their school bully-like_ _life style_ _or what he is then?_ Zoe thought in her mind.

Zoe also repeated in her mind all those encounters with the saviors within their territory, having them caught in act of settling the their camps or bullying her people's territory's camps and communities and compared this encounter with this guy and his bitch with all the previous encounters.

Every encounter with the saviors inside of their territory had started with the hostile manners, threats and gunpoints... which wasn't a new to her.

Each encounter's first moments have been followed by the gunfight, with both sides suffering the casualties... which neither was a new to her.

Being either defeated and getting killed by the saviors, but not before giving their victorious foes their last threats about the consequences they victory will bring upon of them... but even that necessary part in encounters wasn't new to her either.

But what was a new to her, what that "one of the saviors", unlike the others who remorselessly enjoys killing those who dares to oppose their will, would end up not killing anyone at his mercy... and even have the long tolerance against the insults.

This also surprised Zoe...

...because too long she has faced on her people's territory only the saviors that as a result she herself has stopped believing that there is anymore a good and honest people out there in the outside world... only her people fighting to protect their territory and the saviors blundering and bullying her people.

Zoe saw Rick mostly different from the other outsiders she had faced... which are mostly the saviors.

Zoe even thought that perhaps there might be chance to discuss with this stranger and ask from his more politely that what he was doing on their territory.

However, Zoe still kept her previous thoughts about Rick. Especially from her opinion that there was still the possibility that Rick was some unlucky bastard who was captured by the saviors from on the road and forced to work for them as the spy/scout, to her people's annoyance, against something which wasn't her problem and which did not even interest her.

However...

"What? Do you see that that fucker is pussy baby, Zoe? Harmless like the super-puppy. Afraid to act like cowardly bunny. Too gentle to harm even a tiny fly. Probably unable to kill even an elephant from the close distance with his tiny little Colt Python." Jackie said to Zoe with the mocking tone about Rick.

Hearing this, Zoe realized that her scolds had fell to the deaf ears of Jackie, as he kept taunting Rick even more.

However, Rick, as he was trying to get the chainsaw on, paused his actions for a moment and turned to Jackie.

"If you don't have a much nicer things to say, pal... it was Jackie, right? Then I'll say that if you don't keep your mouth shut, I will break your jaw and knock your teeth out if you say any word forward." Rick said, remembering that he had said that very same quote back then, when the saviors had the very first time paying the raid visit in Alexandria, to Spencer, after he sarcastically mentioned Glenn's and Abraham's death and blaming him for them...

...before Rick turned back to the chain saw.

However, his threat had no effect to Jackie.

"Bah! That's the most pathetic threatening I've ever heard. Others of your wretched fellas have threatened me with much worse, such like threatening me to pin me down to the ground and break my every limb, my jaw and my teeth with the sledge-hammer... and still I just laught at it." Jackie laughed.

"And I laugh to your own as well, fucker!"

"Jackie, shut up!" Zoe sternly whispered to Jackie, but with no avail.

Jackie had still something for Rick in his pocket.

"Hey, you! Savior's fucker! One more question yet!" Jackie called.

"What are you? Spy or deserter?"

"What is the reason you ran away from their emperor's care? Because he treats you like the abused dog or wretched worthless slave?"

"Or is it that you finally saw his true self after he forcefully made you to watch that through of his baseball bat the head of somebody close to you was mercilessly smashed into mush in front of your very own eyes?" Jackie taunted.

Though not yet apparently, Rick finally snapped out of his doings after he heard everything what Jackie had just said.

Jackie's words reminded Rick about that night he first met Negan after he and Carl, Eugene, Aaron, Sasha and Abraham were taking sick Maggie to the Hilltop, until they were incessantly harassed by the saviors roadblocks and eventually led into the trap in the woods of one hundred saviors, where they were joined by captured Michonne, Daryl, Rosita and Glenn... and where Negan forcefully and with the psychological torture subjugated him and his community into the slavery of the saviors while they themselves can laze and every week to come with hard efforts, and even to them insignificant deaths of his people, received goods...only for them.

Rick could never forgot that day.

Especially because it was the day when Negan coldly took Abraham and Glenn away from them.

And it was one of his the many motivations which drive him to go to war against Negan and the saviors... so that Abraham's and Glenn's, as well as Denise's and Olivia's and maybe even Spencer's spirits can rest in peace.

However, not knowing nor even caring that how deep his taunting question had reached into Rick, Jackie kept taunting him more.

"How does it felt to watch how they were beated to death by that emperor-playing fucker, huh?"

"Were you unable to keep them safe?"

"Were you unable to save them?"

"Did they urged you to do something, but you didn't because of your cowardice and you allowed it to happen to them?"

"Oooh... probably they trusted you very much... and then you betrayed them to the death so that you can yourself get out of the trouple and death unlike they did."

"Whatta pathetic and cowardly man you are prick, you know that?"

"And what were those unlucky pricks the very last words for you before they got their heads mashed into the mash, prick? Was it something like that..."

Slowly, Rick released his grip from the chainsaw and turned around towards Jackie.

And then, Rick started to approach him menacingly, deep anger in his eyes.

And on his way, he grabbed the shotgun from the ambulance car's inside wall.

Zoe was able to see the anger in Rick's eyes... but she, much to her surprise, saw that this anger in Rick's eyes was not the saviors normal bully's anger.

This anger was more likely and emotional anger, to which no one can often help it.

Zoe knew that because each member of the saviors loved only two things in their pathetic miserable lazy life... was each members own pathetic skin and bullying the others they interpreted as weak and pathetic but perfect as slaves... the saviors never had the emotional anger within themselves.

But Rick's anger was impossible to interpret as bully's anger but more likely emotional anger.

This caused Zoe to realize, that Jackie had went a bit too far gone.

"Jackie! I already told you, shut up!" Zoe said sternly and with the venom in her voice, but still her words fell to the deaf ears as Jackie kept taunting Rick, despite he was approaching him menacingly in the emotional anger and the shotgun in his hands.

"... _Help! Help! Help me, you little fuking prick! Don't let that fucking asshole-emperor to smash my head!"_

 _"Yo, you fucking cowardly prick! Why didn't you saved me when I needed your help most than ever?!"_

 _"Do you see my smashed head before you, do you?!"_

 _"You're not my hero!"_

 _"You're failure! Complete failure!"_

 _"You're nothing but pathetic and cowardly fucker, to whom everyone did good but he himself completely failed to do... ANYTHING GOOD FOR EVERYONE ELSE, ESPECIALLY TO HIS THE MOST CLOSEST FRIENDS WHO TRUSTED HIM!_ " Jackie let out with the dramatic but highly mocking tone...

...before Jackie burst into the mocking laugh in front of Rick's faces.

Rick eventually get into him, and double times emotionally angered of Jackie's words, Rick raised his shotgun's stern over of Jackie.

"SHUT UP!" Rick nearly roared as he pushed the shotgun's stern downwards in the middle of Jackie face with the full strenght he got.

There was the breaking sound to be heard, maybe because of Rick's strike managed to break Jackie's nose, and leaving the bleeding scratch to his nose.

The strike was powerful enough to knock Jackie out... leaving him unconscious.

And there was also a blood drooling out from Jackie's open hanging mouth, implying that the strike had also knocked out a couple teeth from Jackie's mouth.

Zoe twisted her face after she witnessed Jackie having the powerful knock into middle of his faces, including losing couple of his teeth, having the black eye and having his nose broken.

But, however, after Jackie was out, something else happened what Zoe did not expect.

Rick turned to her, came menacingly to her and raised his weapon up again.

Zoe then realized that what Rick was about to do, and due to being trapped under of the tree's trunk and branches, she was unable to defend herself before the forcefully instant slumber Rick was about to deliver to her.

"WOAH! WAIT!" Zoe pleaded...

...but Rick was so deep under of his emotional anger, emotional pain and the feel of guilty over Glenn's and Abraham's deaths that her pleads fell to the deaf ears.

And when Rick finally pushed his weapon's stern downwards, between of the branches trapping Zoe beneath of them and hitting her to the faces.

All Zoe saw the last was towards her faces coming stern of the shotgun Rick holded... before everything turned into darkness in her eyes.

* * *

 **Several hours later.**

It was already night.

Rick had spent some time by cutting the tree over the wrecked ambulance car, and after which he haad tried to fix the ambulance truck's minor damages.

However, Just as Rick started to check for damage more closer and more carefully, Rick discovered, much to his disappointment, that the ambulance car's drive shaft did not survived like he had thought. It was lightly snapped in half and it was rubbing against the ambulance's bottom, which was bend down by the tree's weight.

Besides, Rick realized that along with the broken shaft and the damage the tree's weight had caused to the ambulance car, he had failed to see that the bullets and the exploded grenade's sharps had tore the tires full of the holes and that both the car's bonnet and engine had suffered also some heavy damages from the bullets and flying sharps of the grenades.

These damages forces Rick to abandon his plans to repair the ambulance car.

And so...

Rick had then instead spent the entire day by gathering all from the bloody battle survived pistols, rifles/carbines, miniguns, rocket launchers, grenade guns, missile launchers, flare guns, their ammunition, various explosives, knives, riot suits from the completely destroyed and nearly overrun house to this open area of the woods and from each of these people's vehicles left behind, including the ambulance car's arsenal... and he gathered all of that into the large van standing nearby... all of them what did fit in.

And during of that time, Rick also put down those people, who had afterwards of the battle and during of the night zcame back to life as walkers before taking from them all of it what they had with them during the fight before their deaths.

Rick also gathered into the van some boxes of food and other useful supplies these people had with them from their vehicles.

And as the day started to turn into dark night, Rick had decided to make his temporary camp to this open area, sleep his night in here and then go search for Michonne at dawn.

Rick started to drag the dead bodies of the walkers from everywhere and throw them into the growing pile in middle of the area and emptied the ambulance's gas tank to use it to light the pile of the walkers bodies...

Rick also prepared to everything in his temporary camp... for example.

In case of the intruders or the aimlessly wandering walkers in the woods, Rick circled the whole open area by tying between of the area's borders trees the long tripwires, to which had been attached the cowbells, which he had found from the ambulance as he had emptying the wrecked vehicle.

And luckily to him, both the wire and the bells were black by their color, so that the darkness of the night would cloak it from the living intruders eyes.

And in order to reduces light from his hand-made campfire and have some cover for himself, Rick took rour vans and a couple of cars these people left behind and along with the ambulance's wreck and the van, into which he gathered everything these people left behind of them, he circled the vehicles around of the camp fire.

The gaps between of the vehicles he sealed in order to prevent the unwanted strangers from coming through of the driver's seats by removing from the other wrecked vehicles the large metal plates and with the blowtorch he found untouched and with the full tank from the ambulance, he melted the metal plates in the cars... and in addition to that, he sealed all the vehicles outsider doors to close.

Rick also armed himself well.

Along with his Colt Python and his cobat ax, Rick took as his extra weapons Michonne's Mossberg MVP LR, equipped with a heat binoculars and silencer he found from the ambulance - because he wanted to stay hidden and silent in the darkness of the night if he was about to get ambushed by the strange people... and the last extra weapon was one L85A1 rifle from the ambulance car.

And after the camp and its security was ready, Rick took a couple canned foods, in his campfire roasted sausage and bottle of water from these people food as his evening snack... and took a comfortable stance as he leaned against the van's outside wall behind of him.

And as Rick was about to take the first mountful from one of the canned foods, he suddenly heard the mumbling, coming from the ambulance car.

Rick was a bit alarmed of this, until he remembered that he had completely forget Zoe and Jackie he knocked out earlier today.

After Rick had calmed himself enough from his emotional anger caused by Jackie's taunting words and indirect mention of Glenn's and Abraham's deaths in the hands of Negan and after eventually getting rid of the tree over the ambulance's wreck and freeing Jackie and Zoe from under of the tree's and its branches weight with his chainsaw, whicle they still lied in the knocked out, Rick had dragged both of them out of the ambulance and tied them both from their ankles and wrists with the duct tape he had found from the ambulance car... and left them to lean against the ambulance car's outside wall.

They have been unconscious for quite a long time... until now.

Or at least, Zoe was one of these two who was recovering and slowly awakening from the strike of Rick's shotgun's stern.

Though Zoe had bruise on her forehead and her nose was slightly bleeding, she was okay anyway.

"Oh, mi cabeza." Zoe complained with her own natural language, stroking with her hand her aching head and her stiff and thus a bit sore neck.

Rick looked at Zoe as she was awakening, while keeping a small distance away from her, just in case for his own safety and in order to evade any form of trick this tough woman might have for him in her pockets despite being tied up and tight.

However, Rick also remembered that Zoe had tried to make Jackie to stop his taunting and had even pleaded him to wait before he had knocked her out after her annoying companion...

...just as he wanted to talk or something like that, which he had failed to notice under of his emotional anger for Jackie's taunts, judging both of her actions and her tone of voice before being knocked out.

Though Rick was a bit suspicious that was the talking what that hooded black-haired woman with two purple-tipped ponytails just wanted, after a bit earlier behaving like she was wanting the death wish upon herself...

...this, actually, happened to be part of Rick's earlier plan he told to Michonne: To capture one of these people and try to learn everything possible about these people, especially their apparently hateful and hostile relationship towards the saviors and their secret wish to get rid of them.

Besides, Rick realized that this was the perfect moment to tryto talk even one of these people and try to convince her that they two are on the same side to gain her trust, so that she can help him to win over her people's trust and faith on him and also form both the truce and even alliance between of two communities against Negan and the saviors.

And so, Rick jumped up on his feet and walked to next to still recovering black-haired woman.

When Zoe was completely awakened from her unconsciousness, and had noticed that she was tied up, Zoe immediately started to struggle against to get herself free from her bounds in her wrists and ankles, though they were too tight...

...but she instantly stopped as she, much to her surprise, saw Rick sitting on the folding chair nearly next to her... offering to her open bottle of water and water to drink.

Zoe's instant surprised expression on her face turned into caution and suspicious.

"You have poisoned that water, right? Because if you have, I'm more willing to die with the bullet in my skull rather than being poisoned by your foul water and die slowly and suffering from its toxic effects." Zoe said firmly and spit Rick to the face.

Rick wiped it off from his faces with his hand before turned back to Zoe.

"This water happens to be from your own water supplies you had with you, before you abandoned it all to here. This water is completely untouched. It would be stupid wasting to defile so much good and drinkable water. Besides, I think that you might have thirsty. So, have a drink." Rick calmly and patiently suggested.

However, Zoe still hesitated to have a drink from the bottle coming from the man she and her people were fighting the last night.

"And why shall I believe you that that water is from my water supplies and not yours... and that that its not poisoned as you say so?" Zoe questioned, glaring Rick at the look, from which Rick guessed that the black-haired woman demanded the answers.

Rick knew exactly, how to answer to that.

"For two reasons. One, my own water supplies went with my own van your people stole from me during of the fight, so that I have nothing left from my own supplies but you have. And two, I have all time to wait so that the thirst will either sooner or later take you over and you soon do not even care is the only water you're able to get eitgher poisoned or clear. So, how is this gonna end? Are you taking the drink or not?"

Though Zoe wasn't aware of Rick's van and all of the stuff inside of it being stolen, though she was aware of the fact that it was her people's doing, Zoe realized that Rick got the point with the latter one.

She felt herself thirsty at the moment, with the dry mouth, dry throat and with nasty taste of dryness in her mouth... meaning that it would not take long from her, either day or two, before she would be begging something to drink without caring that was the water clear or poisoned... though they were in the american woods rather than in the desert lands.

Eventually, Zoe finally agreed to take a couple gulps of water... and because her hands were tied and Rick refused to release her arms, Rick held the bottle's mouth on Zoe's lips and allowed Zoe to have a couple couple-few glups, before Zoe informed to him that she had drunk enough.

Rick took the bottle to himself and drunk the remaining water... before he tossed the bottle to the campfire.

And then, Rick turned back to Zoe, who still looked at him with the silent yet suspicious glare.

"Have you a name?" Rick broke the brief silence.

Rick of course had Billy calling this woman's name before the bloody massacre.

But back then, Rick had no time to think about their names when he and Michonne first had to figure their way out the dreadful situation with these people.

However, Zoe did not said anything to Rick.

"Why are you being called?" Rick asked again.

The black-haired and hooded woman with two purple-tipped poinytails remained silent and kept glaring at Rick with the venom in her eyes.

Rick then eyed the bruise in Zoe's forehead and her slightly bleeding nose.

"About that bruise and about your bleeding nose... sorry about that. I didn't mean to strike you, but I couldn't hold myself back in anger, thanks to your pea-brained companion. And sorry about those bounds around of your ankles and wrists... but I couldn't take the risk after that bloody gunfight."

"And about all of those friends and dogs lying on the ground dead because of me and my girlfriend, sorry about that as well, but you and your hostility kind of forced us to raise our weapons against you, though all what we wanted was a safe place to sleep tonight and that we did not want to disturb you in any way." Rick said with the apologizing tone, as he rose up from the chair and was about to head back to the campfire and his evening snack.

However...

"Emotional anger..." Zoe eventually yet quietly said.

But it was enough to catch Rick'a attention from the campfire back to her.

But before Rick managed to ask from her that what did Zoe just say, Zoe continued...

"I saw your eyes being filled with the emotional anger. Guess that Jackie undirectly guessed right that you had indeed forced to helplessly watch how your friends were mercilessly beaten to death by the baseball bat wielding lunatic and ultimate emperor-playing asshole. That's why you fell under of the emotional anger."

"But quite strange that the savior is suffering from the emotional anger rather than bully's anger after such of taunts my companions just fired at you from his mouth... but that's not as strange that the savior does not even killed us as they would normally have done after outmatching their opposities... or even yet apologizing his actions against his victims."

Rick was quite surprised of what Zoe had a moment ago said... about his emotional anger feeded by the feeling of guilt of Glenn's and Abraham's deaths, which she claimed to be able to see from his eyes when he out of rage knocked both of her and Jackie at first out...

...and yet even openly revealing her noticing the differences between of him and the saviors actions, like his emotional anger instead of the saviors possessing bully's anger, leaving her and Jackie alive rather than killing them when they were both trapped under the tree, defenseless and at his mercy... and finally even apologizing everything of this, from the huge slaughtering to knocking her out.

Zoe then turned to the dead bodies of walkers and her own people... and her tone turned to the more serious.

"And this... we have used to this. We are doing this and facing similar situations with you assholes everyday. We are continually getting around the border area of our territory and checking that none of you can reach to inside of the border of our territory... nor any further... to harass my people living in the small camps all around of the central area our territory for sport."

And then, Zoe turned to Rick and glared him with the bitterly venomous look in her eyes, making Rick clear about the fact that despite Zoe saw him different from all strangers she had met, whose have been mostly the saviors, Zoe still bitterly believed Rick to be one of them.

"And for you to know. You may have destroyed four of our patrols within one night... and you can kill me right her and right now with the bullet into my skull... but you will never get any further from here of our territory to torment my people, nor get out of our territory. This area will be soon swarming with equally numbered search parties from each nearby camp searching for you to slaughter you like hunted wild boar you are. And you will never get to the center of our territory, the Doghouse to spy us and our doings. You will soon... face the full power and the savage-like wrath of the STREET DOGS! And we'll keep doing our attacks upon you... until there's none of you left to walk on the earth!" Zoe threatened.

Rick rolled his eyes, because he had already heard that threat earlier today coming from Zoe's mouth.

But something in her words caught her attention... from this and the previous threat she spit out of her mouth.

From her earlier threat, Rick remembered Zoe to mention that their numbers before the attack was about over two hundred, which is two times bigger than the grouo pf the saviors, which ambushed him, Carl, Maggie, Aaron, Abraham, Sasha and Eugene in the woods on that fateful night... only difference was that these people were more heavier armed and some even dressed into the riot suits.

Rick started to also consider in his mind everything Zoe had just told him with the threatening, challenging and even venomous tone.

For example;

 _ **We** are doing this and facing **similar situations** nearly everyday_ \- meaning that these people are constantly dealing with the saviors and lose more people almost every day, and still they have such of numbers.

 _The **small camps** all around of the central area **our territory**_ \- meaning that there's other small camps or with the small number populated small towns nearby, meaning that the territory, of which these people claimed that house to be part of, is quite large.

 _ **Four** of our **patrols** \- _ meaning that, if there was two hundred of these people - over two hundred, including Billy's group back in the house - each patrol had probably fifty heavily armed people with the dogs.

 _More **equally numbered** search parties _ \- meaning that if there is more patrols with the equal numbers, there's a lot of these people. Probably as lot as the saviors... and even as organized as them, though much more hostile and territorial.

And yet about two things, of which these people have been talking about constantly the whole last night and day.

 _ **Doghouse**_ _and_ _ **Street Dogs**._

After thinking these things for a while, Rick opened his mouth to ask a couple questions from Zoe.

"You're talking constantly about some place called Doghouse and about the people called the Street Dogs." Rick started, earning the stern glare from Zoe.

"If you do not want to tell me your name, I will live with that, but can you even tell me what is this place called a Doghouse? Or even... who are these people called Street Dogs?" Rick asked.

However, Zoe still remained silent and kept glaring at Rick with the caution and suspecting eye.

"Hey, listen. I understand that you're caution and suspicious towards the strangers like me... and especially towards the saviors. It's good thing that you're caution, because your're thinking the best of your own people and their safety from the saviors. I'll give you that. But... as you already revealed that you saw the differences in the actions between of me and the saviors, so you're probably either struggling with your own pride and with the alternate opinion that I am different from the all strangers and trespassers, whose have been mostly the saviors, you have met in your entire life and maybe there's a chance to discuss with me... and in fact, I'm also looking for the opportunity to speak with you, because there's a lot of very important things to speak of. And the main topic of our discussion is our common savior-problem and the attempt to get rid of them for good."

"So, I am talking right now to another one of you with that opinion. At first, my name is Rick Grimes, the leader of Alexandria Safe Zone, and I have no intention to harm your people in any way, and I'm not a fan of those saviors neither. And I can clearly see that you and your people are in the big slavery-like mess with them and thir tyrannical school bully-like rule as I am, and my own people as well. I want to help you and your people in your problem as much as I can, but first I must get to know you and your people before I can help you with our common savior-problem." Rick said.

Rick's speech touched Zoe deeply, but she still remained suspicious.

"How do I know you're not their spy, who is captured and forced to work for them by blending among my people in order to gather information of my people's doings to take them to your emperor-playing boss?" Zoe questioned.

Once again, Rick knewhow to answer to that.

"At first, I had no idea that I and Michonne were accidentally intruded to your territory, Due to the fact that we just wanted to save our gas to our home trip and find some perfect place to stay overnight, and we never expected that house to be inside of your territory's borders." Rick explained.

Rick then lovered his head down and sighed deeply.

"And... to be honest... I was indeed captured by the large number of saviors over couple weeks ago in the forest at nighttime... and I was indeed forced by them to watch helplessly as their leader, Negan, killed two of my friends by brutally smashing their heads with his baseball bat in front of my very own eyes, even spilled their blood into my faces. One of these two people he killed, he was a very close friend to me all the way from the beginning of all this. He saved my life, but I couldn't save his when that unspeakable moment happened. I feel guilty about it every day, and his with the baseball bat mutilated faces haunts me in my dreams in every night." Rick confessed, nearly in the verge of tears as he remembered his times with Glenn since he saved him from being surrounded by the walkers and trapped in the tank back in Atlanta all the way to that terrible night and their final moments together as friends.

"And after that, me and my people were through of psychological torture forced to work for them... but only to go hither and thither to scavenge the goods for them while they wait and laze until they come with their tormenting attitude to take half or most of the goods we have managed to gather with the sweat, hard work, taking the life-threatening risks and with the loss of innocent lives, which are worthless to them." Rick said, with the bitter and disgusted tone as he remembered those three times when the saviors had been visited in Alexandria.

When they first came, raided the entire community from most of their Furniture, food, weapons, medicines, mattresses and other accessories, even bullying his people and even threatening to kill Olivia if two missing guns - thanks to Spencer - weren't found... even taking Michonne's deer with them.

And on their second visit, beating Aaron wrongly about the Scavengers message with the other supplies he and Aaron had found in the boat in the middle of the lake... and killing both Spencer, whom Negan had claimed of trying secretly and back-stabbingly behind of his back to overtrow Rick through of Negan, due to not having "guts" to do his dirty work himself, and yet ordering Olivia to be wrongly executed after Rosita had failed to kill Negan in middle of the public.

And on their third visit, they had came to search for Daryl after his escape from their headquarter and left the entire Alexandria like in the aftermat of tornado while searching for him... and yet lazily ordering them to work harder to get stuff for them.

And Rick was burned from desire to pay back to them for Denise, Abraham, Glenn, and Olivia's deaths.

Zoe was both stunned and touched of Rick's open confession in front of her...

And yet, she saw all Rick's feelings at the moment from his eyes and words - sense of guilt, inner pain, sorrow, anger, lust for revenge and the worry.

She even somehow saw or sensed in her own mind Rick's recent and emotionally painful memories as if she was some kind of a mind reader.

Her inside self was somewhat convinced that Rick wasn't one of the saviors but rather either the stranger as he claims to be.

But her another self was still suspicious about Rick's honesty and about everything Rick had just told her and still kept both her sympathy towards Rick and heart hardened and held firmly from her distrust towards Rick and her alternate opinion that he was Negan's tyrannical rule fleeing deserter, who was either hunted down by the saviors or then deliberately allowed to escape from their headquarter... so that they can use Rick as a mole to blend him among her people and have through of him all the important knowledge of their doings they need as excuse to bring upon of them the unspeakable evil and the storm of blood to keep them under of their control and under the control of the fear.

And that's why she and her people were highly in caution with the outsiders... to prevent this to happen.

And that was what Zoe was unwilling to allow let happen upon her people... as if she had already witnessed the one in her entire life and was unwilling to witness it again... judging from her reaction and being almost in the verge of tears.

Quickly, Zoe wiped her fresh tears off her eyes and hardened herself once more.

"I don't believe you. And my people does not have the use the probably false help of yours." Zoe's hardened part said through of her soft self's mouth.

However, Rick had expected this kind of answer coming from Zoe...

...but, he also had a spare plan already planned just in case.

"Alright. Fine then. You made your choice. At least I wanted to offer to you my help and even the tiny chance to rid yourself and your people from the saviors for good. But if that was your answer, know that you probably threw away your chance to get rid of the saviors once and for all." Rick said.

"Well, if you say that this is some kind of peace negotiation, to me this is more likely only waisting your time with me, because I'm not in charge here. The one man in charge is deep in the center of our territory, and you'll never get to negotiate with him without being spotted by one of our patrols nor without the fight. It is the suicide attempt to you. So I would urge you to kill me and then fade away from out territory while you still can." Zoe said firmly.

However, Rick shook his head.

"Well, I kind of hope to be spotted instead of use the lethal force against your people... besides, I ain't going nowhere without her!" Rick said both firmly and determinedly towards Zoe's faces.

Zoe was left confused.

"Her?" Zoe asked like demanding perfect explanation.

"Michonne. My girlfriend. She's that dark-skinned woman you and your friends threatened with her very own sword back that house before this massacre. And your guys yet kidnapped her in front of my very own eyes and took her away. I'm going to save her at all costs." Rick explained.

Though the name "Michonne" wasn't familiar to her, the kidnapping the strangers - at least even one of them - was instead familiar to Zoe.

"We often kidnap one of the outsiders trespassing in side of our territory's borders for interrogations... forcing out of them the locations of their camps or everything they know about us... until they're often fed to our vicious man-eating dogs as useless human garbage to keep our doings in secret from you." Zoe explained.

The term "fed to the dogs" was familiar to Rick in the past... at the beginning of all of this and back in Atlanta, where he and his Atlanta camp's survivors, he, Daryl and T-Dog, had found themselves in their first conflict over back then kidnapped Glenn with the another group of survivors living in Atlanta Nursing Home they encountered first time since the beginning of all of this mess... when their leader Guillermo demanded Rick's bag full of guns and ammunation returned to him in exchange for returning Glenn alive and well to them and threatened to feed him to his "vicious man-eating dogs" if his demands are not answered .

However, Guillermo's so-called "vicious man-eating dogs" had turned out to be small and gentle teacup-sized chihuahuas.

But these people's dogs had turned to be a true vicious man-eating dogs, which he had already witnessed... maybe a bit too close, and fend them off with his dear life.

This was enough for Rick to realize that Zoe wasn't jocking like Guillermo back then.

"No, if I have something to trade with them in exchange for returning to me Michonne and our van with its guns and supplies... and I think that I already have." Rick informed to Zoe.

Zoe chuckled mockingly, shaking her head.

"You're gonna turn this situation like the hostage-situation, right?" Zoe asked mockingly.

However, Rick knew how to say back... yet one more time.

"I will kill two walkers with one bullet. If this goes well, I get my girlfriend, my van and all my stuff back and the chance to at the same time show to you that to whom my alliance truly lies. And once I have Michonne and my van with all my stuff returned to me, we turn our back to you, we walk out of your gates, we fade away from your territory, we continue our home trip and we will not come back EVER AGAIN! We forget that nothing like this ever happened and we are like we would never have met each others, what do you say?" Rick explained.

However, Zoe still remained caution towards Rick and his so-called honesty.

"And what are you going to use to trade with my people in exchange for your black bitch and that van with its stuff. For example?" Zoe questioned.

But then, much to Zoe's sudden surprise, Rick pulled out his loaded Colt Python, kneeled down in front of Zoe and placed his gun's barrel against Zoe's forehead.

"The van and all the stuff - all survived guns, ammunition, explosives, knives, riot suits, food and water supplies, first aid supplies, tools, walkie-talkies, everything - inside of it from your people's vehicles you left behind the last night. I'll trade them with my own van and all the stuff I had in my van." Rick said, pointing with his finger at the can, into which he had loaded everything he had found from the abandoned vehicles and on the ground after the battle.

Rick then turned his pointing finger at Zoe, while he still held her still wwith gunpoint.

"And you, black-haired and ponytailed missy..." Rick started, with a bit teasing tone because he has not yet heard her name.

"Zoe... Zoe Rodriguez to you, idiota." Zoe hissed at Rick.

Rick let out the slight chuckle at this, after Zoe had out of annoyance revealed her name at Rick.

"That wasn't so bad, wasn't it?" Rick teasingly asked, causing Zoe to hiss at him.

However, Rick came back from teasing humor to the seriousness.

"So, Zoe Rodriguez, how precious you are to your people? Or how precious your companions Jackie is to your people?" Rick questioned.

However, Zoe remained silent.

Although such of stubbornness of her started to exasperate Rick and even considered to pull the trigger and fire the shot into her skull, he managed to keep himself cool and was about to ask one more time...

...until something in Zoe caught his attention... in her forehead beneath of her hair.

"What is this?" Rick asked as he raised his hand and stretched it towards Zoe's head in order to move her hair out of his view

"DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU FREAK!" Zoe hissed and tried to struggle harder against her bounds but with no avail, and yet she was quickly silenced by Rick as he pressed his Colt Python's barrel harder against Zoe's forehead.

"BE STILL!" Rick sternly demanded, as he kept checking something in Zoe's forehead, which was worth enough to catch his attention into it.

Rick moved some of her hair out of the way of his view...

...and discovered that in the middle of her forehead was the tattoo of two purple and bold letters... **S.D.**

Rick was taken aback after finding this tattoo on Zoe's forehead...

...which greatly reminded him about the violent people called wolves, whose also used to either draw with blood, mud or ink, tattoo or even carve their forehead's flesh the letter "W" as the mark of the wolves, which they carried with the sadistical pride, as Rick had saw it in their dead bodies foreheads and in the foreheads of their victims.

And Rick himself had a bad history with those W-guys, who're the ones who attacked to unsuspecting Alexandria and mercilessly slaughtered at least sixteen innocent alexandrian survivors and whose attack ruined at the same time their the entire mission to draw the herd of the walkers away and caused six deaths more among of those people with him during the mission...

...and they were the ones, who ambushed him in his recreational vehicle after he had made the break on the road to make contact with Glenn back then, and had barely survived from the deadly encounter with five of them, which had managed to escape from the counterattack of Alexandrians, by Morgan's suggestion...

...and later their attack caused Alexandria to be overrun by the herd of walkers they had tried to draw away from Alexandria, which had caused eight deaths more.

Counting all together, the wolves were back then responsible of thirty deaths upon his people.

And because these people, who attacked him and Michonne the last night, seemed to have the same habit of using tattoos bold letters of **S.D.** Rick began to wonder if those wolves were actually part of these people or something.

"What are you looking at, you prick?" Zoe suddenly said, snapping Rick out of his thoughts.

However, Rick threw this thought out of his mind and turned back to Zoe.

Rick turned his attention briefly to one of Zoe's people lying on the ground dead next to him and removed his red bandana off from his head to see if he has the similiar tattoo in his forehead... while still holding Zoe in still with the gunpoint.

And yes, even this dead guy had the similiar tattoo with Zoe, with the exception that the tattoo was green with this man.

And then, Rick turned back to Zoe.

"S and D? What does these letters on your forehead mean?" Rick asked, even though he already knew or believed what they meant.

Zoe was about to open her mouth and say something...

But suddenly...

"Street dogs, prick! These latters marks the member of the Street dogs, If you did not pay any attention to our mentions about the Street dogs earlier, fucking prick! Some of us marks themselves as the member of the pack by carrying the tattoo of the Street dogs either as bold letters in their foreheads or as the angry dog tattoons in their faces just like I have. We are Street dogs! This is the Street Dogs territory to which you and your black bitch just intruded! And the center of our territory is called Doghouse, our Street dogs well equipped and securitited home and headquarter! You should know what this means If you have or have ever had a dog, you prick!" Jackie rudely explained, having finally recovered from the knock Rick delivered into his face with the shotgun's stern...

...and ironically answering to Rick's earlier question, to which Zoe herself had refused to answer, as he slowly and grunting stood up to sit next to Zoe.

"I am Jackie, the brother of Billy and son of Tobias Shadow, our Street Dog pack's alpha back in Doghouse. And she... she's Zoe Rodriguez, Billy's hispanic girlfriend and fiancée... tough like a tigress but hot like the sun, perfect and deadly killing machine against the saviors!" Jackie added.

Though Rick willingly listened Jackie despite his rude words towards him, Zoe in the next of them both shook her head, rolled her eyes and turned her face away from out of pure embarrassment of Jackie's words.

"Now you know who we are, know this! If you plan to use us as hostages to trade us with your black bitch and back all of that you believe is your property, you're just wasting your time, prick! Our people will never answer to your foolish and suicide-attempt sounding exchange trading conditions, because we two aren't precious to anybody, prick! Not even among of our own! I am not precious to my father neither to my brother! In fact, I'm not even worthy formy own family! Zoe is not precious to my brother neither! In fact, we're both top worthless to anything; to our friends, to our family, to the entire life! And all what we want to do is die."

Jackie laughed at his claim and mockingly at the face of Rick.

"YOU HEARD ME?! WE ARE NOT PRECIOUS TO ANYBODY! WE ARE NOT WORTHY TO ANYBODY NOT EVEN TO LIVE ITSELF! YOUR TRADING MISSION IF MERE WASTE OF TIME! YOU WILL NEVER HAVE YOUR BITCH BACK! YOU WILL NEVER HAVE YOUR EX-STUFF BACK!" Jackie declared and laughed mockingly at Rick... and yet quite loud.

Fearing that such of loud noise will draw unwanted walkers to the camp or the other human threats, Nick remowed his Colt Python's barrel from Zoe's forehead, placing it back into its case, and was about to stood up on his feet in order to deliver the hard kick to Jackie's faces to knock him out again...

...but, Zoe suddenly grabbed him with her tied hands from her shoulders and pulled Rick back on his knees.

Rick was more than just surprised of this that he was nearly about to pull his gun out of his case and shoot Zoe in the place...

...until Zoe eventually let go of his shoudler and moved herself as much as she could that her tied legs on Jackie's direction.

"WE ARE NOT PRECIOUS TO ANYBODY! WE ARE NOT WORTHY TO ANYBODY! WE ARE NOT-" Jackie kept mockingly bellowing to the night sky...

...until Zoe stretched her tied legs forward and kicked Jackie into his faces with all strength she got... knocking the lousy tattoo-faced guy out.

With the bleeding face, Jackie fell on his side to the ground... knocked unconscious once again.

"Arrogant bastard with the big words." Zoe stated...

...though she knew that all what Jackie was trying to do with his words, was trying to get Rick to believe that his plans to make exchange trading with their own people in order to have his girlfriend and his stuff returned back to him would be useless.

However, Jackie's words does not apparently have any kind of effect to Rick, as he immediately changed the talking point.

"So... Street dogs. Because your people are constantly talking about the street dogs, does that mean that that's what your people are called?" Rick questioned, though having heard the name "Street dogs" many times over from these people's mouths, that he already guessed what Zoe's answer was.

"Yes... I am street dogm prick. We are all... street dogs." Zoe confirmed, knowing that it was now useless to remain silent and not to tell anything to Rick, now when he already knew why her people were called and what is their place among of them.

Zoe's words "I am street dog" and "we are all... street dogs" reminded Rick about the way how the saviors used to say quite like this; "I am Negan" and "We are all... Negan" as he remembered one of them, whom they captured after their assault to their posts at the satellite station, telling to him at his face that he was Negan before Rick executed him... even though Rick never figured out what the saviors really meant with that term about themselves... until these days now when they know Negan and his group far more better.

At least Rick realized that these Street dogs were themselves organized to a high level as the saviors.

And it would be the shame and the great lost to turn back to those ones, of which he saw good allies with a similar relationship towards the saviors and with the similiar desire to rid themselves from them and their tyrannical rule for good like the people of Alexandria and Hilltop.

"But I think that Jackie maybe went a bit too far when he claimed that you are worth nothing even to your own family and people, did he?" Rick questioned again.

Zoe confirmed this with the simple nod, although she did not looked at Rick, but kept her scolding eyes locked at Jackie, who lied on the ground unconscious.

"As I assume you having noticed back inside of that ambulance car when I begged you, quite rudely of course, to finish me off with one shot when I though you were one of them. We street dogs, we do not really value life itself. Not like this... and especially not under of those ultimate emperor-playing malditos idiotas." Zoe said to Rick with the serious and then disgusted tone at the end, and this time, not saying the word "you" instead of the word "those" as she referred the saviors... implying that her ssofter self was slowly taking over herself with the conviction that Rick indeed wasn't one of the accursed saviors... and not even working for them neither.

"We street dogs may have kind of made the deal with the devil himself... our life and our soul in exchange for finally getting rid of the saviors once and for all. That's why we do value death more more than the life itself." Zoe added.

"But, as the pack of street dogs, we like one. We always look after each other and take care of each other. That is, we are kind of valuable to our entire pack, and the pack's true strength is in numbers. Together we are more stronger, and alone we are more weaker." Zoe explained.

Rick was quite touched of Zoe's words... which were telling to him that these "street dogs" indeed lived like a real dogs despite they're still living humans.

"If you claim that you're precious to your group, or pack, whatever... how then you explain the fact that they just left you two behind the last night?" Rick asked with the serious tone from Zoe, knowing that leaving people to die just like that in this world was both inhuman, selfish and cowardice... though sometimes self-defense.

...though he and his group - his original group and alexandrians - has a thing or two experiences about "leaving some behind" term. For example they left Merle to the rooftop of one of the buildings of Atlanta like an animal at the beginning of all this...

...and one now-dead member of alexandrians, Nicholas and Deanna's son Aiden, indeed left people behind to die to pathetically and selfishly save their own skin... one of which was Noah from their group.

However...

"Normally, the pack would not leave anyone behind, but they will, when forced. It's one of pack's laws and everyone in our pack knows the law. Billy, my boyfriend as Jackie revealed to you, sticks with the rules of the pack, even if it means to leave behind someone you deeply care about." Zoe explained.

Rick shook slightly his head.

"Yep, you truly live like the real during of the end of the wold wildened dogs in the pack." Rick commended and was about to turn away and return to the campfire, so that he can toss into it more walkers dead bodies to prevent the fire from getting killed by the lack of "fuel" and cold night wind.

However, he was halted back when Zoe...

"Rick? Rick Grimes? That was your name, right?" Zoe questioned.

Rick turned back towards her and answered with the positive nod.

"Now when you know us, partially but not yet completely, what are you really going to do with us now?" Zoe asked, referring herself and Jackie.

Rick knew how to answer to that... for the fourth time.

"At first, because you are a lot more reasonable and more cooperative, I need you to lead me to your Doghouse's gates." Rick started.

"Because this Billy guy kidnapped Michonne and is probably responsible for her as their captive and under his watch, I will return you, Zoe, alive and unharmed, to your boyfriend in exchange for her to be returned for me, alive and unharmed as well."

Rick then pointed with his finger at Jackie lying still unconscious next to them.

"And him, as your group leader's son, I'm gonna return him back to his father and brother alive in exchange for the chance to speak with your alpha leader about pour common savior-problem and our efforts and attempts to get rid of the saviors." Rick mentioned.

Zoe's eyes widened after she heard this.

"Wait! What?! Oh, no. Oh, nonononono! No! Not gonna happen, Rick! You said yourself that you only return us to our pack in exchange for your girlfriend, your van and your stuff, after which you must leave and never come back. I'm not gonna take you inside of Doghouse's gates and walls. Not outsides inside, it's out law!" Zoe firmly protested, reminding Rick that he had himself accepted Zoe's earlier answer and agreed to only to trade her and Jackie with Michonne and his van with all his stuff her people stole from Rick.

"I will return you two to your own people in exchange for Michonne alive and my van with all its stuff untouched inside, but I'm still gonna to stick with my original plan." Rick answered determinedly.

"But I also need the backup plan. After I have saw, especially your people's mighty arsenal and the battle dogs, breaking into this "Doghouse" would be ten times more difficult than beating two hundred of your heavily armed and armored people." Rick stated.

"You got that right." Zoe agreed.

"You should have seen the heavy defense of my home, Rick, and a very tight guard at the gate. No intruder gets in nor out without being noticed. Maybe it would be enough to convince you to forget your original mission to speak with our leader and stick with your latter backup plan." Zoe said, but this time like nearly begging tone.

However, she was unable to convince Rick to change his mind.

"I'm sorry, Zoe, but for the better future for both our peoples, I gotta try." Rick answered with apologizing tone.

"So, the plan is this. My backup plan - to trade your van with full of your stuff, you and Jackie with Michonne and my own van with all its stuff - and my original plan - to get to your leader to negotiate about our common savior-problem and our efforts and attempts to get rid of them for good - merged together. And with that, I will kill two walkers with one shot." Rick explained.

However, Zoe was still firmly against the whole idea.

"Esto es una locura, Rick Grimes! This is foolish! I already told you, there's no way to get through of our defense without getting caught by the guards" Zoe warned.

"Every situation has its own solution, as the phrase goes, Zoe. It does no matter how tight the security system is, there's always a tiny weak point in every defense system. There gotta be the way through of your defense system without getting caught and without using any form of violence. I will find it and **YOU** two are gonna help me to get through of the guards and take me to your leader with the way or another. With your help, it will go so much peacefully than on my own, without any kind of violence between of the sides nor loss of lives from both sides." Rick explained.

"And why shall we do that? Why shall we help you to get pass the guards and why shall we take you to your leader." Zoe asked, still protesting Rick's plan.

Rick then kneeled down in front of Zoe.

"Zoe, you gotta understand that there's many other people who're living under of Negan's power just like your people. They live under the slavery and they suffer from it as well as from being constantly and ruthlessly bullied and abused by those saviors... and even lost a many good friends all because of them. Such a life can not continue and something must be done before it is too late and, who knows, even impossible to do anything anymore. I even understand your people's troubles with the saviors even though I do not know you yet completely, because I've already saw my own troubles with them. All what I want is to help you and your people and help you, as well as you will in exchange help my own people to beat them once and for all. That's why your people and my people needs to join our forces together to end this nightmarish slavery upon our communities. That's why we must face them together... as one people... as brothers-in-arms... even as friends, we wanted it or not. And because you know now my reasons to do all of this with or without your consent, will you kindly help me to do this?" Rick asked after explaining everything as clearly and as calmly as he was able...

...and extended his hand towards Zoe, so that they can shake them as the sign of the agreement.

"Have we deal?"

However, Zoe was still highly against the idea.

"If you do this, against my will or without my consent, no somos amigos, Rick Grimes. Meaning; "we are not friends, Rick Grimes"." Zoe said stubbornly and angrily slapped Rick's hand away.

Rick strike the back of his hand with his another hand, as he stood up.

"I know, but we do not need to be the enemies neither... especially when we have a common enemy out there, waiting the another opportunity to bully, threaten, rob and even kill someone. To prevent the nightmarish slavely life like this from continuing any further... the mere truce between of my people and your people is enough for me in addition to the possible deal between of me and your group leader." Rick simply said before he, this time, returned to the next to the campfire.

"Now, try to get some sleep, Zoe. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow as you are going to lead me to your "Doghouse" to help me to sneak in and confront your leader face to face, so that I can trade you two and your van with its stuff to Michonne, my own van with its stuff and to the chance to talk with your leader." Rick said as he sat down next to the campfire.

Rick then took a cup of coffee from fire and took a couple gulps of it, before he took his Colt Python into his hand and leaned against the can's outside wall and relaxed.

Rick also took Michonne's sniper rifle into his hand and placed it in his arms into the position that it aimed towards Zoe.

And, Rick also placed Michonne's katana next to him, so that it was close to him when he needed it most.

"And, as you know, the trust in this world is not given... but rather earned through a long and difficult process. And that's why, in case if you're planning to cut your bounds and slash my throat during the night, I'm going to watch overnight you and your friend, with the loaded guns on my side. So. do not even consider of doing anything stupid that might force me to knock you out like I did with you and Jackie earlier." Rick warned.

"And no worry. You can sleep your night peacefully. Because me on the watch, You can not surprise me as well as no one can surprise you on your sleep, I will make sure of that." Rick added.

Though Zoe knew that Rick had the upper hand over her and Jackie, she kept glaring at Rick with the distrust and suspicious about his claim that no one of her people wasn't going to get hurt during of his foolish and suicidal mission to sneak into Doghouse.

"And why do you think that I need the protection from you?" Zoe asked.

"One scratch in you or missing finger or limb... who knows if they, after discovering those possible damages, will return to the favor by mutilating Michonne with the knife to cause her some scratch or forcefully cut off either her finger or one of her limbs in favor. That's why." Rick answered with the death serious tone.

"And now, go to sleep." Rick demanded.

Zoe was unable to do anything more than reluctantly complies.

But before of that, Zoe gave her very last dark glare at Rick.

 _Not bad idea from you at all, prick. Go ahead and keep watch overnight... and i_ _t will lead you to be tomorrow as well as half-dead, half-weak and half-careless. You will let most of your guard down, and you are alone with me and Jackie... and once you least expect it and carelessly turn your back on us... I'll put my knife into your heart!_

 _Buenas noches para esta noche... y luego adiós... mañana! Good night for tonight... and then goodbye tomorrow!_ Zoe said in her mind.

 **###**

Meanwhile.

One day trip away from Rick, Zoe and Jackie's temporary camp base...

A lonely police van with the attacking dog's print was driving along the road.

And in the van, Billy and Two Ton were sitting in the driver's and passenger's seat...

...while two remaining men were sitting in the backside of the van.

And in the van's floor next to them, was the sack, in which Michonne was... as their hostage.

It has been over couple hours from her capture into the sack and their escape from the lost camp base, and there has not been any movement inside of the sack, implying that michonne was still lying inside of the sack unconscious from Billy's hard strike to her head back in the woods during of the battle.

These two remaining men were guarding the unconscious woman in the sack...

...while one of them was checking another man's arm and changing his bloody bandages on it.

During of their escape from the overrun and flaming battleground, that man had received from one of the walkers the lethal bite to his right arm. However, luckily for him, the another remaining man had the experiences about the amputation therapy... leading him to execute on him the first aid in the form of amputation by giving him an abrasive substance in his arm, tying his own belt around of his arm to behind of the bite to prevent the walker virus from going further from his arm and then amputating his fellow comrade's arm and finally tying his amputated arm firmly with the bandages to prevent the bleeding.

The amputated arm they had tossed out of the van and left it behind to be devoured by the walkers wandering aroiund of them in the night dark woods.

And they had to double their speed to get their fellow comrade back to their base's hospital.

"That fucker! Because of him I'm half-useless, because I cannot do nearly anything anymore with my left hand and I had to face that "bite off your limb" law I hate most! I'm gonna force that fucker to kiss decapitated head of one female _abomination_ next time we cross our paths with him!" one-handed man said bitterly and gritting his teeth in pain in his arm.

While these two were guarding their prisoner, Two Ton turned his attention to Billy, who looked quite concerned about something while driving the car.

"What's wrong, Billy?" Two Ton asked with the friendly manners.

However, Billy did not answer to him at first... he just kept glaring at the road and kept driving.

"I'm fine." Billy eventually said, or more likely whispered, quietly.

However, Two Ton wasn't satisfied of the answer like this.

He clearly saw that something was bothering Billy, because he has been silent during the whole trip.

"C'mon, buddy. I know that something is wrong with you. You have been both silent and concerned about something during the whole trip from that hell back there." Two Ton said, demanding to know that what was bothering his old friend right now.

In his mind, Billy tried to deny this and he was considering of saying it aloud to Two Ton.

However, he slowly started to realize that he has indeed been under of some kind of trance... which was closely related to feel of guilty and concern for someone.

"Yeah, I... I don't know, Two Ton. I... well... I guess that I do. I just... it's just... I just remembered that we left my brother Jackie and Zoe behind into that ambulance car back there... at the mercy of those _abominations_ and wildfire. And that there was not anyone in the driver's seat to take them away from there after they were both brought to there after they were knocked out and lightly injured by those two fuckers back in the house." Billy confessed...

...but tried his best to hide from Two Ton the feel of guilt and the inner pain he felt in his heart for leaving Zoe and his brother behind.

"And that's not yet all what I realized. I also saw how one of the tree in the border of our camp base, of which trunk was badly damaged by the grenade's explosion, fell over the ambulance car with the destructive effects, wrecking the whole vehicle... while both Zoe and Jackie were still inside of there... and now I can't believe that I was so reckless and urgent with a quick departure of ours from the scene... I should have tell somebody to get to the ambulance car and get both of them out of there." Billy kept confessing, scolding himself for being so reckless... because he was the leader of this group and in charge for everyone.

"And I do not have any idea are they borht even alive or did they through of some miracle survived from that falling tree, from those _abominations_ and wildfire." Billy added.

Two Ton then tried to comfort his friend.

"C'mon, buddy. Zoe is like the bengal tigress by her nature in out there and a lot of experienced survivor, though we're street dogs rather than begal tigers. An Jackie... well... your brother can be sometimes quite reckless and arrogant and follows rather the phrase; "bite first, ask later." But your brother is still a good survivor." Two Ton said to Billy.

"And trust to your old buddy, Billy, that if they both have managed to survive from from all those three life-threatening situations, they are definitely on their way back to Dodhouse... at least I think so."

"But, in the first of all, You know too well the law of the Street dogs that your father made at the beginning. "We do not leave anyone behind, unless we have to." I know that in the case with the family members, that part of law is much harder to obey... but the law is law and we have to stick up with them if we want to survive in this world." Two Ton finished.

Billy, quite reluctantly, nodded at this.

Two Ton may have less brain and more muscle... and more fat of course... but he still can be a good pal to his friend in the uneasy situations like this one.

"Well, at least I know that it, when we left Zoe and Jackie behind, is completely that fucking Rick the prick's fault! If he and his black bitch had not been there, then nothing like this would ever have happened out there... and all those people from all four partols I was in charge for, would be still alive." Billy snarled in anger and disgust as he mentioned Rick Grimes name... and with the disbelief that he and his "black bitch" destroyed two alone all four patrols within one night.

Two Ton agreed, even though he had remained most of the fight on the sidelines after he blasted the house's garage doors with the reckless shot ofhis missile launcher.

However, Two Ton placed his comforting arm on Billy's shoulder and nodded with his head to backside of the van.

"Cheer up, buddy... at least you have that asshole's fucking black bitch. Meaning that you have the chance for the payback to that prick." Two Ton reminded, referring Michonne in the sack in the backside of the van.

The expression on Billy's face turned darker.

"You know, Weddie? I'm even more than just agreed of what you just said about "making that fucking prick - only if he has even survived from that herd and that hell back there - to kiss decapitated head of one female _abomination_ next time we cross the paths with him"." Billy said to the one-armed man in the backside of the van called by name Weddie, with the vengeful and murderous tone.

"I really do... but... I also want him to suffer even more. And seeing the death of his close friend - or maybe lover - before of his very own eyes is perfect way to make him suffer. We shall to capture him and bring him before of that girl and us... and to make sure that he will watch from the beginning how I'll take the honor to slowly but certainly slice his pretty girl's neck with the knife... until she dies to blood loss and her head is removed from her shoulders. And once her head has turned one of those _abominations_ , then we shall force him to kiss her one last time."

Two Ton, after hearing Billy's quite brutal plan to get his revenge against Rick, started to dramatically shook his hand with the "slow down" sign.

"Even though I would love that Billy, don't forget one thing in our law. We must first interrogate her and get everything what he knows about us and then get rid of the human garbage. And besides, the alpha is the only one who has the right to decide the way to get rid of her after we have got all knowledge that black bitch had managed to receive secretly from us. And I think that it is, as usually, feeding her to the dogs like with the previous savior captives." Two Ton reminded.

Though a bit disappointed about this, Billy knew that Two Ton was more than just right.

Only their leader, his father, had the right in the entire pack to decide the way to get rid of the useless prisoners.

"Yeah, I know, Two Ton." Billy muttered with the disappointment as he kept driving.

 **At the dawn**

At the dawn, as the rising sun's rays illuminated the night sky, the van before it arrived to the Doghouse.

And which was not a regular doghouse nor the small with the wires full of the alarm bells fenced camp... but rather a fortress.

At first, the van was stopped in front of something, which greatly looked like the wall with the great gate in middle of the wall.

And as the day brightened more, it was revealed that the wall was made out of the hundreds of vans, cars, busses and trucks, which were crushed into flat in the car crusher and stacked on top of each other into the three or four successive rows of ten or twenty cars piles. The piles of flatten cars were then firmly attached to each other with the metal sheets and blowtorches to make it more heavier and more

In fact, the wall's first row was made up from the school buses, which were not flattened but the driver's side, another wall of the buses, seats and all tires had been removed and which were then stacked on top of each other into the piles of two or three shcool buses.

This way, the builders or the wall formed a two-storied hollow corridors inside of the wall, to where was only able to get through of the passageways on the inside of the wall, which led to the ladders in the end of the passageways and which then led by climbing them to each level of combined bus corridors.

And the wall's outer side was strengthened with the hundreds of heavy metal plates, which were attached with the blowtorches to the wall, making it quite impossible to climb on it and covering most of the buses outer side's wall's windows, leaving only the buses window rows untouched but their window glass replaced with the bulletproof glass.

Into the wall was also attached the pikes, which were placed into the level of the anyone - living people and undead walkers - heads levels, which took care of the walkers wandering too close of the wall, sparing the people wasting any bullet at them.

And with these, the wall had the heavy defense.

There was the line of into the wall's ridge attached spotlights, used by the people of this place, with which they would illuminate the entire area outside the wall at night, thus preventing the intruders from sneaking into the area under the darkness of night without being caught.

And on the wall was standing along with the wall going line of large black GE M134 Miniguns with stand as well as Browning M2HB machine guns - and the same defensive line was placed into the school bus corridors, three-four either GE M134 Miniguns with stand or Browning M2HB in the place of each window row.

And in addition to heavy extra armament in the wall, the wall was occupied by dozens and dozens of men, dressed into the black riot suits with the angry dog prints and armed with a mixed weaponry of sniper rifles, shotguns and colt rifles.

In fact, some of these guards were carrying in their arms the large black riot shield, in which - as well as in their helmets and their chest armors - had been printed the angry doberman revealing its teeth, which was a sign of the status of these guards among of these people. And in addition to their riot shields and firearms and handguns they carried on their backs and in the cases on their belts, they also carried long spears in their free hands and long and black Cold Steel Latin Machete 24, which they used like swords and carried in the machete scabbards, which were either hanging on their backs or on their side.

Beneath of the wall was also the life-threatening death trap for the intruders.

Beneath of the school buses was placed the vans into a vertical row, so that side doors can easily be pulled upwards. In each van the guards of the wall held five-ten too feral and too untameable wild dogs, which were chained inside of the van and fed with the cutten pieces of human garbage (captured and killed saviors and other strangers), of which, as the best parts, the dogs fought brutally with each others, leaving most of them with full of the nasty scars and bite marks.

In the serious situation, such like the raid of the group of bandits - or even some day possible massive attack of the saviors - these watch dogs would be released out of the vans against anyone, who managed to get pass of the fire range and get to the wall.

The long chains, to which the dogs were attached, allowed the dogs to go a long distance from the wall - and sometimes they were even released from their chains and allowed to ran free, attacking anything in the same side of the wall.

And yet there was the large gap in between of the armored and well armed walls and in it was the large gate made out of the wood and iron to reinforce it and it's outer side had the print of the angry attacking dog.

Like the wall, the gate itself had also the spikes attached to its outer side in the level of the heads in case of to the doors wandering walkers.

And there was two large and thick wooden posts behind of to inside opening gates, which were separated from and eventually linked with each others with the hinces, of which upper parts were by the ropes lowered on the latches, serving as the large balks always when the doors were closed, and raised back on the top of the posts when the doors were about to be opened.

They reinforced the gate's strength together with the metal plates, blocking even the heavy ramming truck's attempt to burst inside through of the gates.

The gate was well guarded, as there was standing the well armored and heavily armed guards in the outside of the gate and behind of the army's heavy sack and barbed wire barricade... ans they served as if they were like somekind of customs inspection and security check of this place.

And among of the guards of the gates were dozen of the small patrols of four men, heavily armed and armored, and whose guarded the feet of the wall with the angry watch dogs always at the daytime when the wall's spotlights were not in use.

From the driver's and passanger's seat, both Billy and Two Ton watched this sight with the proud smiles.

"Well, were home." Two Ton said to his friend.

Billy nodded back as response.

"Let's get to work guys. We have interrogations to take care of with that black bitch... and after we're done with interrogations, the sooner the better, we get to prepare the executions of that black bitch." Billy said to Two Ton and his two remaining men in the backside of the van.

And then, Billy turned his head down, so that he would pay the look at Michonne inside of the sack in the floor of the van.

"Such of pity that that your prick isn't here with us. I would love to see that fucking savior prick's expression on his face when he sees you hanging in a noose from your neck, right above of the pit full of the vicious dog pack as they rip the flesh out of your pretty legs. Such of pity indeed that he's going to miss that fun." Billy muttered at Michonne in the sack, before he turned back to the steering wheel and kept driving forward.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Eighth cliffhanger...**

 **Rick is going to the rescue mission,** **deep into the center of the hostile territory,** **to return his hostages, Zoe and Jackie as well as the van full of these Street dogs called people's stuff back to their own** **in exchange for Michonne and his own van with all its stuff to be returned back to him and have the chance to talk with the alpha of the Street dogs, not knowing that Zoe is planning to assassinate him on their way to the Doghouse. And meanwhile, Billy is planning to kill Michonne as revenge to Rick for killing most of his men and forcing him to leave Zoe and Jackie behind.**

 **And maybe now-dead wolves are somehow related to these Street dogs, after Rick finding S.D. letters from Zoe's, Jackie's and some dead Street dog's foreheads by the same way as the wolves had W letter in theirs?**

 **What will happen next, we'll find out the next time...**

 **Man, it took longer to write this chapter than the last chapter, but it was worth of it.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya.**


	9. Chapter 9: Forming Trusts

**CHAPTER 9: FORMING TRUSTS**

In the next morning, Rick was one the move, sitting in the driver's seat of the van and van itself was on the road towards his next stop... the Dog House, from which his captives both Zoe and Jackie were from.

As soon as dawn had lighted the night sky, Rick had abandoned the small camp base with its vehicles and took the van, filled with the dead Street Dogs abandoned weapons, food and other stuff from the last night, to his posession.

Rick had also took both Zoe and Jackie, still in their bounds, to the van to take them back to their home to trade them to their leader called Tobias in exchange for returning Michonne, his can with all its stuff returned as well and the change to talk to Tobias face to face.

However, Rick had left Jackie to the backside of the van, along with the guns, food and other stuff, and yet Rick had doubled his ties around his wrists and ankles, making sure he could not escape during of his driving.

But, Rick had placed Zoe to the passanger's seat to direct his driving to her people's gates.

And even though they were both in ties and ensured the fact that they will not escape, Rick still kept both his axe and his Colt Python in his reach, so that he can quickly grab them to his hands and use them... just in case, if these two eventually manages to get free from their ties.

Both of they still stared at him with distrust... along of which was also the look like the some of canice predator, which is patiently waiting its right moment to attack its prey with the first opportunity.

Rick certainly did not intend to take the risk that these two would not do something stupid... such like ambushihg him from behind with the knifes or handguns by these two in middle of the driving them back to their home for trading them to his belongings.

Michonne's life, the fate of his goods and van and the opportunity to talk to their leader depend on Zoe's and Jackie's own life and well-being.

However, despite the tension mood between of them during of the drive directed by Zoe, the mood indeed was quite silent and thus bored.

And Zoe, without saying any word, completely silently directed the way to the Dog House for Rick...

...while Jackie sit silently in the backside of the van along with the goods of their people.

This silent and tensioned driving was the perfect opposite to his and Michonne's drive, when they always used to chat with each other and even laugh to each others with the humor and love.

Rick even started to think that whether these people have even lost their own social skills with the other people, like chatting with the each others, because of their problems and some grim past with the saviors.

However... this driving with the tensioned and silent mood had lasted at leats thirteen hours...

...due to Zoe's confirmation to Rick before leaving from the camp base, that due to the some obstacles on their way to the Dog House, such like some roads being swarmed by the walkers, some spots of the road being blocked by the trees cut down by the storm, one nearby bridge being destroyed and theshortcuts with the different lengths to avoid obstacles on the way, their home would be about a day trip away...

...and Rick had already have enough of this silent mood between of him and these two, so he decided to talk a little with Zoe, though the hispanian girl seemed to be less than willing to speak with him.

"Quite quiet mood between of us, eh?" Rick asked from Zoe as he briefly turned his eyes at Zoe.

However, Zoe only remained silent and did not looked back at him.

"Hey, listen. If you're still mad at me either for accidentally intruding to your territory, forced to massacre your people back in that house or now forcing you two to make this trade and discussion with your leader for me... I would be as angry as you if you had done the very same thing to me... for intentionally intruding to my own turf, killing my own people for fun rather than self-defence and forcing me to do what you want..."

"...and believe me, because I've already experienced such of intentional intrusion to my territory, slaughtering people only for fun, and being forced to do something what I'm bitterly against. And because of those experiences, I would be, or actually, I'm still angry at those who had caused it to me." Rick explained, recalling again The Governor's all three attacks to the prison to slaughter everyone inside, Gareth and his from Carol's attack on Terminus survived cannibals, those deranged wolves that attacked Alexandria and later caused the town being overrun by walkers... and now currently, the saviors dictatorship-like raids to Alexandria.

"We are not interested of intentionally intruding to anyone else's turf, nor killing for fun nor forcing anyone to do what we want them to do for us. POur only concern is the safety of our own territory and we kill to PROTECT our territory, without the question and often without quater." Zoe rudely answered.

"I'm agree with you, Zoe." Rick said back.

However, Zoe remained unimpressed and stubborn.

"What are you even doing, prick? Are you trying to get to us?" Zoe said rudely.

"Calm down, Zoe. I'm just trying to get to know you two." Rick said.

"Forcing us to reveal to you the location of our home and and using us, as well as our own goods, as hostages in exchange for returning your black bitch, your own goods and the chance to speak with our leader, doesn't make us friends..." Zoe said, until she was interrupted by Rick.

"...but, as I already told you, not enemies neither. Besides, I'm not interested of threatening your people and your home any further than what I did back in that house. I'm far more interested to get to know your leader, your people, your abilities... because you seems to be in large numbers, heavily armed and greatly organized people, and thus as strong as the saviors or even stronger than them... and first of all, I'm more interested about the possibility of cooperation between of us, so that we can together get rid of the saviors horn in our side for good." Rick explained.

"And what makes you think that he even wants to speak with you once the trading is over? He could just as well feed you and your black bitch to his dogs soon enough after you have returned me, our goods and Jackie to our people." Zoe said back.

"Because I have something to offer to him to make him to grant the opportunity to speak with him... such as, for example, all the extremely precious knowledge what I have about the saviors, about their habits, their outposts, their own network, even the location of their leader and their main headquarters." Rick revealed.

After hearing that, Zoe immediately snapped out of her own silence and stubborness and immediately turned to Rick with her eyes widened from both the shock and confusion.

"Qué?! Woah! Woah! Woah! Slow down! Wait a minute! What are you talking about?! Their outposts? Their own network? The location of their main headquaters? Do they have more than just couple outposts? They have even a headquater? Is there even more of them?"

The smile came to Rick's lips, knowing that he had finally got Zoe's attention.

"Oh. So you're not aware of that, aren't you?" Rick asked.

Zoe was left both confused and dumbfounded of this knowledge, until she shook her head as the sign of "No."

"No. I wasn't. I wasn't aware about the fact that there's even more outposts under their possession than just two. And I have thought, believed, that their third place IS their headquaters, until now you mentioned that their real headquaters is somewhere else than in near of my place. That... that all just came unexpectedly and completely new to me." Zoe said.

"Well, I think that they headquaters would be now far more easier to find. Because one of my closest friends, who was captured by the saviors and taken to their headquaters on that night when..." Rick immediately stopped as he recalled the events of that night when Alexandria fell under Negan's rule through loss of two good friends and psychological torture, including nearly being forced to chop off his own son's arm.

Rick couldn't bring himself to say it in loud anymore, after already saying it too many times over.

And so, Rick decided to skip and and return to the main object.

"When they first came to raid Alexandria, my friend, who worked for them as their leader's slave, sent me silently message with the morse code. Revealing to me the saviors headquater's location to me. It is the old factory located in the east from Alexandria Safe-Zone, probably 20 miles away or a bit more, I believe." Rick said.

After than, Zoe then started to ask more information about the Saviors "real" heaquaters.

However, Zoe suddenly snapped out of it, realizing that Rick had somehow managed to got into her, and returned back to her skeptical-self.

"Woah! Woah! Woah! Wait a minute. Why did you reveal this to me, even though I'm not even in charge over my people? And first of all, What are you even trying to do? Are you trying to get to me or betray your friends into my people's hands?" Zoe questioned.

Rick raised his hand to sign Zoe to calm down.

"I'm just trying to form the trust, and I believed that revealing their headquater's location to you - and thus to increase your apparent lust for revenge against the Savior for something you're unwilling to leave unanswered, death with death - is the best way to earn your trust." Rick explained.

"Or the stupidest way." Zoe said.

"You know that that knowledge now in my possession, I could kill you right now and take that knowledge to my alpha Street dog. Believe me, my people would acceptingly and willingly listen to me instead of you." Zoe claimed with blind pride.

"But did you take into account the fact that they might ask from you that from where did you get that knowledge?" Rick questioned with the challenging tone.

Zoe tried to say something against that, but she went immediately silent after realizing what Rick was talking about.

"And believe me, once you reveal to all of them and your leader that "one of the saviors", deserter one, did, they would never believe you and instead immediately ignores that knowledge, labelling it as the "savior's" dirty lie. Besides, what reason would they have to believe in what they heard through of your mouth from one trespasser, whom you fiercely and stubbornly believe to be one of the saviors." Rick added.

Though a bit reluctantly to admit he seemingly or close-defeat, Zoe started to realize that Rick got the point with that one.

Besides, the one fact was highly against her own word, that the Street dogs has never before in their entire life after the beginning of the outbreak and the Savior's dictatorship believed anything what the outsiders had said to them to their self-defense and reasoning with them in every encounter within the border of their territory, only labelling each claim as a dirty lies and all intruders as the saviors, ending up by killing them without mercy nor remorse.

However, Zoe had yet something against his word.

"Oh, yeah? And what do you think you are? Some kind of "Moses-guy" who has finally arrived with "let my people go" style to free, unite and lead the enslaved people to the Land promised by the God? Or are you some kind of king of the rebels, Spartacus himself, standing against the might of apocalypse version of Rome?" Zoe guessed with the very sarcastic tone.

"Or do you just pretending to be some kind of cop trying to control law and order?" Zoe added.

"C'mon, man! Those times are over! There's no anymore law nor order! They doesn't matter anymore! Only one thing what matters, is survival!" Zoe snapped with the such of scolding tone to Rick.

"Actually, I was a cop... I was a sheriff deputy in a small town in the state of Georgia, who tried to control law and order with my long dead co-worker and best friend Shane Walsh. Until one day, we got on our patrol the police call and ended up to the fierce fire fight against some back robbers we were chasing down, during of which I got shot - twice, one to my waist and another behind of my shoulder - and I fell in coma for one months, during of which all this began."

"And I'm telling you, that despite it has been already over twenty or twenty-one months since I got shot behind of my shoulder, which caused me to fall in coma, I can still feel that extreme pain wave burning my shoulder like hell."

"And, since I woke up from the hospital in middle of this shit, and I evolved both physically and mentally through all my experience through of over twenty months during of all of this survival, running, searching for supplies and safe asylum and even countless times killing both dead and living - people who were both close friends and threat, until this day, I do know too well that in this goddamned world the survival only matters, but that doesn't mean that the law and order of civilization have not been completely destroyed with much of the civilization. There are still other communities out there that are still trying with undying belief to rebuild the civilization by their own law, order, and their own free will... which is now threatened by the common enemy, who pretend to be the saviors and are now trying to "rebuild" the civilization through the dictatorship and the slavery." Rick added.

"And yes ... I'm kind of like Moses or Spartacus, because I'm fighting for my people's own rights, free life and the better future to come rather than kneeling forcibly before of them, give away to them the goods we had with the hard work and at the risk of our lives brought for them, forcibly obey whatever is told and to be punished with death of one or two of my people."

"And that's why I am trying to unite in Washington's direction all the communities that are enslaved or soon-to-be enslaved by the Saviors together as one people for the upcoming war against the saviors and their leader Negan."

"And that's why, I'm doing all of this what I am doing right now. Forming alliances, partnerships, friendships, gathering weapons, ammunition and numbers, making the battle plans to somehow overwhelm their heavily outnumbering forces and get to Negan, rid the entire thorn of the saviors from our side for good."

Rick then turned to Zoe after his speech.

"And believe me... I definitely don't like to negotiate with your boyfriend's and this Jackie-guy's father like this, by using two of you as both my hostages and my advantage for the opportunity to get speak with your leader about iur a common problem...

...and with the knowledge that me and Michonne killed most of your people back in that house, which could make the discussion with your leader much difficult, even probably impossible.

But, the fact is, that you yourselves forced me to do this all. Your hostile attitude forced me and Michonne to use the raw power as an act of self-defence - just like you said it by yourself, Zoe, only one thing that matters is the survival at all cost, from both of dead and living...

...and you two and your stubbornness and refusal to help me willingly, as well as your boyfriend and his french-guy friend by kidnapping Michonne and stealing my van with all its goods, forced me to use this entire hostage-situation. And I'm heartly sorry about it." Rick said...

...before Rick turned his full attention back to driving.

Zoe remained silent, thinking everything he had heard from Rick right now and earlier back in that night...

...starting to slowly but certainly to be convinced of Rick's speeches and understands Rick's own problems with the saviors and his willingness to both get rid of them and have his revenge for what they have done to his people...

...just like she wanted too, as considering of everything Rick had openly confessed about his problem with the saviors made her to recall every bad memory in the pasts .

"You were indeed forced, but not by our hostile attitude against you nor our refusal to either help and believe you. You were more likely forced to do all of this - except killing our people back in that house, which was definitely self-defense from you - by the situation itself, to which the saviors had been put you in..."

"...as well as we were forced by our own hatred towards the saviors to use the raw force against any intruder inside of our borders, before we ever even manage to get to know him." Zoe explained.

Though Rick did not looked back at Zoe but rather and willingly listened.

"Yeah. I really miss those times, when civilization was not the worst enemy of each other and did not fight for the life and death to survive from the atrocities of the new fucking apocalyptic world." Zoe said, as she started to recall her memories before the outbreak.

Before this all fucking shit began, I myself used to be the pretty woman assistant in the circus as my everyday work. I loved to entertain the children everytime with my partner, my late and now long-dead boyfriend and back then "so-called" illusionist called with the name Jon Gabriel in middle of the circus arena.

Zoe kept the moment of pause, as she recalled in her mind all those illusions she and Jon Gabriel used to do to amuse the kids visiting in the circus long before the apocalypse.

"All those memories... for example the one time when Jon used to entertain the children by pull the rabbits out of his the magician's hat, until he after three or four rabbits he pulled me from my fake-rabbit ears out of the hat like out of nowhere. I still remember those amazed expressions on the children's faces, as well as their smiles, laughs and their clapping to us." Zoe said, a lightly chuckling at the memory.

"Or another time, when Jon was placing me under of his deep trance and placed me on the long wooden plate, which was supported by couple chains from each sides. And with the several of "mystical" movements of his hands while preparing the illusion, including removing the chains from under of the plate, the plate was floating still in the air. And at the end of the show, other assistants covered me with the white sheet and Jon directed me with his "mystical" hand movements my unconscious self under of the sheet to float slowly and gently upwards, until I eventually disappeared... much to the audience's amazement."

"Or the one time, when I was tied up from my wrists with ropes or chains, put inside of the sack, and locked to inside of the small and cramped box to ensure I couldn't escape. And after the box was closed and locked, I freed myself from the ropes, sack and the box, sneaked to behind the scenes abd "teleported" myself behind the audience... to wait that Jon opens the box, showing me impossibly disappearing, until he revealed my presence to the audience. I still remember those gasps and cheerings."

"Or the one time, when I was placed into the flat box, with no way to escape, while Jon Gabriel "magically" saw me in half. I remember little kids and even the adult witnesses concerned, even fearful, expressions on their faces through the whole shot. Until they were finally sigh in relief, and their fearful looks turned into happy and cheering after finding me out after the show unharmed and in once piece." Zoe listed.

Rick couldn't help but smile at this, remembering these "magic tricks" to be called by their names; Lady from the hat, Levitation, Sub Trunk escape and Sawing a woman in half.

"So, you were working in the circus' hocus-pocus stuff, right?" Rick asked, to which he earned the positive node from Zoe.

"Did you used to go to the circus when you were a kid?" Zoe eventually asked.

Rick was for a moment silent, trying to recall some memories from his childhood and his old family times, which could relate to Zoe's question about visiting in circus long before the the beginning of all of this and his first wife's death.

"Several times as a young boy and also with my son, Carl, and my original wife, Lori. I don't remember exactly when the last time we visited in circus before all this shit started." Rick responded.

"And with all of this endless mission to keep myself the the people around of me safe and alive, I've greatly forgotten the exact details of my past times before this whole fucking outbreak began." Rick explained.

Zoe gave to Rick the understanding nod.

"You took the words out of my mouth. Even though I still remember a few lifelong moments from my past life before this fucking shit began, I'm mostly forgotten all the taste of the past life before the beginning all of this." Zoe stated.

"Well, it's all now history. And now I'm more embraced with the present moment and the true meaning of survival and the hatred towards those fucking emperors-playing fucks!" Zoe said with the bitter and hateful tone, as she mentioned the Saviors.

Rick became interested of the source of these two's deep and bitter hatred towards the saviors... and willing to know the reason to it, which would help him to unite his people's and the Streed Dog's common goal and work together to gain their current common goal.

He was also so urged to as the reason of their hatred towards the saviors that he couldn't anymore to hold himself back from it.

"How exactly did you and your people get into the trouble with the saviors?" Rick eventually asked.

However...

"You first!" Zoe demanded.

"Know this, that despite everything you've said to me, I have still doubts about you. You may lighten my burden of doubts about you by explaining you first how did you ended up into troubles with the saviors, if you claim that you're neither one of them nor working for them. So please, and make my day." Zoe added.

 _Another block of distrust and_ _extreme_ _wariness between of forming the trusts?! You gotta be kidding me._ Rick muttered in his mind.

However, Rick couldn't help but ending up to reveal the entire story to Zoe that how he and his people ended up into the troubles with the saviors.

"It began less than three months ago. It all started from the one old and a long ago abandoned stone quarry, to where had gathered the massive herd of hundreds of walkers, a few thousands more likely. The herd's super loud dead moaning lured a hundreds and hundreds a newcomer walkers to there with them, saving Alexandria mostly from the serious walker problems, and making my people to live there like the week and scare sheeps safe away from the hungry wolves in their fences. The stone quarry was sealed from two exit spots with the large trucks, to prevent the walkers from exiting from there, but we knew that the herd would sooner or later manage to break out from there, and yet one of those exit spots was in the direction of Alexandria... meaning that as soon as the herd gets loose, the very first thing it would do is to head straight towards Alexandria. We couldn't let this happen, I formed the plan to release the walkers and lead them far away from Alexandria, while my people worked the day and night to seal off the roads on the crossroads, which led straight towards the direction of Alexandria, with the cars and walls to change the herds upcoming course and get rid of anything which could block the progress of our plan and prevent the walkers from keep moving to the direction we were about to lead them. However, I did of course receive from my own people some doubts towards the functionality of my plan, mostly because they were skeptical towards me - due to me and my group being recently arrived to Alexandria back then - and my every minute growing leadership over Alexandria. And mostly because they have been lived behind of their walls since the beginning of all of this, that as an result they did not knew anything about the true survival nor about the dangers among the living and dead in the outside of the walls. We were supposed to go through the whole plan's details again and train for it for one day before we would to put the plan into action, but the some incident back in the stone quarry forced us to put our plan into action at once. However, the plan worked perfectly as we managed to lead the most of the walkers away from Alexandria."

"However, there was an accident and terrible accident, which ruined everything for what we had worked so hard and prepared for. While we were on our early-executed mission, Alexandria Safe-Zone was under unexpected attack. Not by the saviors nor the dead, but rather by the extremely psychologically deranged and violent group called the wolves... nearby of Washington D.C. moving group, who are well recognized from the W-letter they had simply draw the letter with blood, mud or ink to their foreheads, just like your and Jackie's S.D. letters in your foreheads, or otherwise viciously carved it to their own flesh. They used to wander around the Washington, D.C. area, hunting down the other survivors, stealing their supplies and either brutally mutilating their victims bodies or leaving their victims to turn into walkers with W-letter carved into their heads, and they also made from their victims or their victims mutilated body parts their own walker traps for the other survivors. I saw back then many walkers with W-letter in their foreheads. And we once visited in the place called Shirewilt Estates, which had fallen victim to the Wolves attack long before our arrival, leaving the place ruined and overrun by the outsider walkers and into the walkers turned inhabitants, many of them having W-letter in their foreheads. When they struck. I wasn't in presence when their sudden attack upon my people happened, but I believed that they waited for us to leave to the mission, and using it as an advantage, they burned the guards alive with the Molotov cocktails, climbed over the wall and began the same process that they had done at Shirewilt. They without mercy or remorse butchered and dismembered about 18 - 20 member of my people, marking them with W-letter and looted the houses for valuable supplies. My long-time friend since Atlanta, called by name Carol Peletier, stood up to fend Alexandria from this enemy and rallies many others survived members of my people to the unexpected counter-attack. And because these wolves got the melee weapons but not any firearms, and causing them the heavy losses in numbers and arms, we forced the survivors, which I encountered and killed all of them later, to retreat."

Zoe was taken aback, after hearing about the people called the Wolves, who similarity to them had used to write their respective group's name first letter, W, to their foreheads, just like they wrote the letters S.D. to their own foreheads to make sure that to which group they belonged.

And, Zoe, after considering everything Rick had told her about these wolf-guys in her mind, Zoe began to get strange feelings about that there was something strangely familiar about these wolf-guys.

However, she eventually wiped these thoughts out of her mind and allowed Rick to continue.

"And because of their attack, our mission was nearly completely ruined. During of their attack, one of the wolves tried to break through of the walls with the cargo truck, until our look out in the tower outside of the wall managed to shoot him to death, but caused the cargo truck to crash against the wall, causing the truck's horn to blare. That very same horn caused roughly more than half of the herd to turn their direction towards Alexandria, chasing our escaping groups through the roads, forests and abandoned towns, killing six guys more during of our return to Alexandria, and eventually caused the entire Alexandria to be temporarily overrun by the walkers as an consequences from the Wolves failed attempt to bring down the wall with cargo truck, as it ended up to smash its way severely through of the feet of the watchtower, eventually causing it to fall over the wall and taking it down, allowing the walkers to break through."

Zoe then signed Rick to pause.

"How does all of that relates to your problem with the Saviors?" She asked, wanting to know the main reason.

Rick then continued.

"As we were dealing with our problems with the Wolves and walkers, my three friends, called by names Daryl Dixon, who is one of my long-time friends since Atlanta and my brother-figure, another one called by name Sasha Williams, my people's best sniper, and third one with name Abraham Ford, were tasked to lead the rest of the herd in the front away from Alexandria and then return back once the rest of the herd was far enough from Alexandria. So far away that we mostly lost our all contact with them."

"However, they told me that during of their hometrip, they were eventually halted as their way was blocked by the gang of the eight saviors on the backs of the motorbikes. They forcibly tried to took away their weapons, all the goods they had already found during of their couple days lasted trip back to home, their newly found a new vehicle after they had lost their own in the earlier ambush of the saviors, and they even tried to kill them like killing them is somekind of funny joke what everyone can do over and over again, until Daryl caught all of them off guard by blasting them all in pieces with one shot of RPG, saving their guns, goods and their vehicle."

Zoe was left amused of this knowledge.

"Shot eight fucks with one shot with RPG, eh? I think that I like this guy already." Zoe stated.

"However, we had several more encounters with the saviors before our problem showed its true colors to us."

"We started our first conflicts with the Saviors about two months after our death-serious walker trouble in Alexandria, after I and Daryl met during of our supply run a one part-ninja and part-houdini butt-kicker called Jesus, by his real name Paul Rovia, who lives in twenty miles to the south from us located community of survivors above of the open hill called Hilltop Colony... which is led by Gregory, one of the MOST BIGGEST JERKS STILL ALIVE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH I HAVE EVER MET DURING THE ENTIRE FUCKING APOCALYPSE! Jesus tried on our first met to steal from us the cargo truck full of the valuable and usable stuff, leading three of us to the fierce chase and fight over the possession of the truck, until we lost the entire truck to the lake. We took Jesus to Alexandria, who took us to the Hilltop. And there, we learned more about the whole community's own trouble with the saviors after we saved Gregory from Ethan-named guy who tried to stab Gregory to the death and for the reason - or more likely being demanded with the threatening his brother's life to do ot. Then, we learned that Hilltop Colony was under of the Negan's tyrannical rule. The residents were demanded forcibly to scavenge and deliver half of their resources for the saviors once every week, in exchange for their community to be spared. But even though the deal between of the Saviors and Gregory was made up, they yet threatened the whole community's residents with the death, if their demands are not answered, by brutally and mercilessly beating a teenage boy to death in front of everyone's eyes. And at the moment, the Hilltop is running out of their resources and they're even more and more harshly and mercilessly demanded to deliver the stuff for the saviors like the slaves. We ended up to make the deal with the Hilltop, half of their stuff to feed our community, in exchange for us to deal Negan and the Saviors for them for good."

Zoe listened all of this willingly, at least now when they finally reached to the business.

"Well, did you?" Zoe asked sarcastically.

Rick responded to this by shaking his head, with the ashamed look in his face, much to Zoe's confusion, that for what he was ashamed.

"Well, no. We merely followed with that one directly our own pure and blind arrogance. Because we've already encountered many kind of enemies during of our survival trip to that far, we openly and blindly believed that Negan and his Saviors are not any way different from the previous enemies we've encountered before them. So, with no any kind of precious knowledge about the Saviors themselves, their habits, numbers, network, their entire organization nor about their leader himself, we blindly and arrogantly formed the plan to take down their satellite outpost we believed to be their headquaters and Negan's home. At midnight, we at first tricked them to release Ethan's brother with the head of walker resembling Gregory's head, as they demanded Gregory's head in exchange for freeing Ethan's brother, after which we sneaked our way with lethal force through of the guards and started at first assassinate sleeping saviors with the knifes until we then started butcher them with the raw firepower after our presence was revealed, taking them off guard and down one by one, to the very last one. After we managed to free Ethan's brother and take him back to Hilltop, killed over couple dozens of saviors and have their loot retrieved, two of our people, Carol and another one called Maggie Greene, were taken as hostages by the survived Saviors for questioning them for who we are and where was the location of Alexandria Safe-Zone. Carol and Maggie, however, managed to free themselves and escape from their captors, killing them all, after our trade between the captives failed before it even started."

"However, we learned from them that they are "all Negan". For a long time, I did not realize what it actually meant - as one of our captives taunted me by saying face to face that he was Negan, provoking me to execute him at once, with the foolish belief that the saviors were all ultimately defeated - until I realized that they were not just a saviors-pretending bandits but they're also some kind of cult, where "all Negan" is some kind of motto among of them."

As Rick kept another break, Zoe took to her faces a scolding-like look.

"So you and your people attacked just like that to their outpost?! Without even any kind of information about the enemy such like this one?! Do you understand, you goddamned foolish prick, that such of unconsidered act against an unknown enemy just revealed your own presence to these fucks?! Then no wonder if yiou are in the trouble with the Saviors, you stupid prick!" Zoe harshly scolded.

"I humbly and remorsefully admit my mistake, as well as my own blindness and arrogance. But I know that no explanation nor apology in the world will undone what I did and what I brought upon my own people." Rick said remorsefully, before he continued.

"The several days after taking down their satellite outpost and living with that foolish belief that all saviors were wiped out, I soon found out that I was badly wrong. The Saviors, they came back, as even more vengeful and with large numbers than ever before, starting to torment our supplie runs... and they even killed our doctor Denise Cloyd. shot from behind through the right eye with Daryl's crossbow, provoking Daryl to go out there to hunt her murderer down and kill him as an revenge."

After hearing what happened to Rick's group doctor, Zoe felt her blood boiling in anger like the fire.

"Salvajes! They definitely deserved to die! They can't be even call a humans!" Zoe growled angrily.

Rick nodded, as a sign of being fiercely agreed with Zoe, before he continued.

"And that was not all, Zoe. Maggie. We found out a long time ago during our serious walker problem, or she did at first, that she was pregnant and waiting for a child. She was eventually embraced by the wave of pain, normal to the pregnant women. And because our late doctor was murdered by the Saviors, we needed to take Maggie to Hilltop's doctor Dr. Carson to be checked out. Her escort group was formed from the several alexandrians. I led the team, and I got with me my son Carl, Abraham, Sasha, one of my group called by name Eugene Porter and one original alexandrian called by name Aaron, Alexandrian's recruiter. We tried to reach to the Hilltop as fast as we could, but we faces on the way the problems. Serious problems."

Rick kept another break, allowing Zoe to swallow everything she had heard this far.

"What kind of problems?" She asked.

"The Saviors. They started to ambush us on the road over and over again, preventing us from reaching to the Hilltop by blocking from us the every road and short cut leading to the Hilltop with their cars and their strength in weaponry and numbers, and yet even firing at us. Their even bigger and bigger every time growing numbers in every roadblock of theirs greatly outnumbered and outmatched us, making us unable to fight them back, and yet we weren't even prepared for that kind of encounters with them. They even blocked our way through under the bridge with the pile of logs, which they set in fire right after our arrrival to that block... and yet trying to yet even trying to spooky us by throwing the innocent man off the bridge, and causing him to be hanged from his neck. They even formed from the chained walkers the another block, with some saviors in the woods off the road in ambush. We even tried to form the diversion-plan, by sending Eugene to lead the Saviors away from us while we tried to get to the Hilltop by foot. However, we were expected of doing so and soon we found ourselves in middle of the large group of the Saviors, including beaten Eugene and our recreational vehicle. And there, we were quickly bith surrounded, disarmed and forced to our kneels. And they brough to us from their failed vendetta for Denise's murder captured Daryl, Michonne, Abraham's lover Rosita and... to face all together to face Negan's judgment."

Rick kept again the break, allowing to Zoe to consider everything of this.

Zoe then, after a while, opened his mouth to speak.

"Did that happen that night, when your place fell under of the Saviors rule after through of the loss of two of your friends and the psychological torture... as you have a many times over mentioned about that to us?"

With the sadness and the shame in his eyes and faces over his friends loss, Rick slowly nodded as response.

"Who were your two friends who fell to death in front of your very own eyes that night?" Zoe dared to ask, feeling now out of nowhere found compassion towards the man she and her group had tried to kill back in that house, with believing of him and his woman to be part of the Saviors...

...even though she clearly saw Rick being tortured by the inner pain of sorrow and shame over their deaths.

Even thinking of it seemed to be emotionally painful to him, if Rick constantly blamed himself for their deaths in the hands of Negan.

From all of that apparent emotional pain within him about the moment in question, Zoe realized that that probably meant that those two victims were both good and very close friends to him.

However, Zoe did not demand the answers right now, but allowed Rick to have a time to swallow all the sorrow and shame within himself, So that he could answer to Zoe's question with the sympathetic tone.

"Abraham Ford was Negan's first victim of his judgment, brutally beating his head with his wire-wrapped baseball bat into unrecognizable pile of bloody mash, after his eeny, meeny with his disturbing humor. Although we two were not very close, Abraham was my group's muscle, as well as one of those who supported me with trust and loyalty. I still mourn his death, feeling myself responsible of that as well as of the death of Negan's second victim, and to Abraham's honor, I'll will make Negan pay for his part of Abraham's murder." Rick stated.

"What about your another friend? Who he was, and how close he was to you?" Zoe asked.

"Negan's another victim... his name was Glenn... Glenn Rhee. He was one of my most closest and most trustest friends I ever had during of the entire Apocalypse. We first met a long time ago back in the first days of this whole fucking new world, back in the overrun city of Atlanta. When I arrived there a long time ago, as I was looking for my disappeared wife and son, I found myself surrounded by the entire army of the walking dead. I narrowly escaped and ended up to be trapped inside of the tank in middle of the overrun streets, until Glenn came to my help. He saved my life, and I am still eternally grateful to him for that, even willing to risk my own life to save his. But... on that very moment when he truly needed me... I couldn't when that unspeakable execution in the hands of Negan happened. Like Abraham, also Glenn ended up to have his head brutally beaten into bloody mash, in front of my and his wife, Maggie Greene's eyes, and just because Daryl attacked Negan to defend from Abraham's brutal execution horrified and anguished Rosita, after Negan made her forcibly to look all the Abraham's blood and brains in his baseball bat... just for fun. It has been a several weeks from that horrible night, and I still feel guilty about it every day. I can not help but think about it. And Glenn's with the baseball bat mutilated faces haunts me in my dreams in every night. Even after Glenn's murder, he even splashed Glenn's blood from his bloody baseball bat on my face... and I can still feel his blood in my right cheek." Rick explained, with the sorrow in his faces and his eyes wet from the tears.

Zoe remained silent, completely touched of everything Rick had told to her about his problems with the Saviors... and the only way she could react to it was the nod with the sad but yet understanding look in her eyes and faces.

Rick quickly wiped the fresh tears out of his eyes, before his tone full of sorrow turned more serious and determined.

"But now, after getting self-punished for my mistakes long enough, I'm ready to correct my mistake... I'm totally going to avenge every member of my group killed by them morbidly for fun... by finishing the unfinished job and business with the saviors once and for all. But this time, more aware of them and their abilities and even better prepared for them than ever before!"

"And that's my oath to my people. Finish off the Saviors for good at all cost or die trying." Rick proudly declared.

Zoe was even more touched of that, because that was also the Street dogs oath.

However, the touched mood was ultimately ruined by...

"Yeeeeah! That's we do!" Jackie, who had apparebtly woke up from his unconsciousness, cheered sarcastically.

"Long live Prick Grimes, the travesty of Moses himself has arrived to unite the enslaved people and lead them as one to his a totally laughable crusade against the conquerors, the enslavers and pathetically school bullies mind possessing band of fucks!" Jackie cheered sarcastically.

Both Rick and Zoe rolled their eyes in annoyance.

Eventually, Jackie's attitude turned more serious.

"Geez, Zoe! Do you actually believe all of that shit? Don't you see that he is the Savior?! Only one fucking mere Savior?! And all what he's trying to say is the lie! Only mere, dirty, senseless, backstabbing, treacherous lie! Don't you see that he is a mere spy! Only a mere backstabbing lying spy, who's just trying to get to you, so that he can sneak into our community and steal and take to his employers all valuabe information about our preparation against those fucks out there!" Jackie fiercely protested.

"C'mon! Let's just kill him! It's two on one! We'll easily outnumber him, despite being tied up! Kick him to the face so hard that his nose and his fucking teeth will be broken, so that I can strangle him to death from behind! Make your move, and make it now!" Jackie demanded.

"OH, SHUT UP BACK THERE, JACKIE! OR I'LL KICK YOU INTO THE FACE AGAINST INSTEAD OF THAT "PRICK GRIMES!" Zoe threatened Jackie very annoyed of his pointless protests against Rick, meaning that Jackie had either woken up a moment ago, or a while ago and overheard everything Rick had said, but not willing to believe any word of that.

"NOW! SIT AND BE QUIET, BAD DOG!" Zoe sternly ordered like from the dog's owner, frustrated from some of her pet's bad act, only to receive from Jackie the annoyed and highly frustrated snort as he reluctantly went back to the corner and went completely silent...

...but not before he locked his death-cold and distrustful glare at Rick.

Rick did the very same thing to Jackie, before he went back to drive the vehicle.

"Geez! You really aren't called as the Street Dogs for nothing. Some of you really behave like mature adult dogs, while others of you behave like undisciplined pooches like that Jackie-guy in the back." Rick stated.

"Undisciplined pooches like Jackie indeed." Zoe sighed in annoyance.

Both Rick and Zoe went then silent for a while, until Rick remembered in interested about the source of Zoe's own hatred towards Nega nand the Saviors, until his question was rejected by Zoe and instead ended up to be demanded to tell his own story of getting into the trouble with the saviors at first.

"I believe, Zoe, that you might be able to tell me now the reason to your and the other Street dogs troubles with and your hatred towards the Saviors, now when you know mine own." Rick reminded.

Zoe knew that it was now her time to tell her own story to Rick, now when she had got to know his own.

Zoe, just like Rick, hesitated at first with the start, hinting that her story was not as bright as Rick's own... or, it was much more cruel.

"Well, even though I lived through of it, I'm tried to get myself to forget what happened back then completely. Too traumatizing memories of those bloody horrors to bear on shoulders, and even more traumatizing consequences after that. And I'm not the only one who has tried to forget that. All of us has tried their best to forget, but our vengeful hatred does not allow anyone of us who has lived through of it and witnessed it with our very own eyes to forget it completely. However, only Tobias, as our packs alpha and highly responsible over of our safety and lives, remembers well all what happened back then, through of every detail." Zoe started with the apologizing tone...

...but also trying to explain, that she was not trying to make any excuses to avoid telling about the bloody horrors on that day to Rick.

"Try me... what kind of traumatizing bloody horros you were forced to both witness and experience on that day?" Rick said, with the challenging tone. Ready to compare his own experienced traumatizing night with Zoe's upcoming own.

"And it is okay, if you do not remember all of it by the every detail. Tell me all that you still remember. That would then be enough for both of us... to understand each other... and yet it would even enable the alliance and partnership between of us against our common enemy." Rick added.

Zoe nodded with the humbly smile.

However, when she was about to open her mouth in order to start telling her story...

...they were both surprised as the shells fired from the shotgun suddenly hit with the destructive force agains the passanger's seat's door's side mirror and another shot's shells burst their way through of the passanger's seat's doors window and the windscreen.

Badly surprised of this sudden attack-like act, Rick and Zoe hurriedly covered their eyes and faces with their hands and arms from the sharp, big and small pieces of the windscreen's glasses.

And that was not all!

Somewhere around of the bullets, fired from the rifles/carbines, shotguns and submachine guns, started to pierce their way through of the van's backside's walls and doors, forcing All of them, Rick, Zoe and Jackie to get down out of the way of the bullets.

But, despite the bullets flying above of it, Rick still kept driving in order to keep the van's speed as equal as it was before the attack

Once the firing stopped, probably temporarily, all of them were able to get up.

And once they did, Rick increased the speed of the van with full power.

"What jus thappened?! What's going in there in the front?!" Jackie shouted from the backside, badly surprised from the suddenly thriugh of the wall appeared bullets, and immediately demanding to have some answers from both Rick and Zoe.

Both Zoe and Rick were at least aware of the fact that they were under of out of nowhere appeared gunfire, which came from behind of them, telling them the fact as if they were followed by someone.

However, it could equally be a small strange group of bandits, who had hidden in the woods, to wait in ambush for any passing vehicle of passenger, whose they could ambush and stop them with the raw firepower and destroy their wheels to make them stop.

However, their wheels in the right side of the road were still in one piece.

The bandits had either missed their wheels or none of them got no idea of firing at them in time before they passed their ambush's spot.

But they needed to ensure the wellbeing of their right side wheels... as well as the fact that whether or not they followed by the bandits.

Zoe was unable to check their situation and tell them anything, because her side's side mirror was former side mirror... especially now when its mirror was destroyed and nearly entire side mirror was gone from its place, probably from the close shot.

Zoe then turned to Rick.

"Rick! We need to stop to check that are the right side's wheels still in one piece, but we also need to make sure that all is clear behind of us. Your side mirror is still in one piece! So check out through of it and tell us that is everything clear behind of our vehicle!"

Rick nodded and turned to his side's side window to check the situation in the outside and behind of their van.

His eyes widened after he realized that what did he saw as the reflection from the side mirror.

Zoe notized Rick's not-good-promising expression on his face as he looked to the side mirror.

"What is it?! What's going on, Rick!" Zoe asked with concerned tone.

"Yeah! What is happening out there, prick?" Jackie asked from Rick, extremely impatiently, as he struggled to get on his knees.

Rick then went back into his driving position, before he turned both to Zoe and Jackie.

"We got the problems! Very big, us outnumbering and extremely DEATH-SERIOUS problems after us!" Was Rick's only response to them both.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Ninth cliffhanger...**

 **Rick, Zoe and Jackie are caught under of the gunfire!**

 **What will happen next, we'll find out the next time...**

 **Zoe seems to be familiar of the now-dead group called the wolves. Are the wolves and Street Dogs indeed somehow related to each others?***

 ***This takes a several chapters more before we found out.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya.**


	10. Chapter 10: Problematic situations

**CH** **CHAPTER 10:** **A PROBLEMATIC SITUATIONS**

 **This is my tenth chapter of my story! I hope that you have liked it so far.  
Read and review.**

Meanwhile, in the black room located in somewhere of the place called the Dog House.

Michonne immediately woke up from her unconsciousness after she felt someone unexpectedly tossing the bucket of ice-cold water straight to her faces, which ran all along of her body from her faces.

Soaking wet Michonne spluttered, after which she strongly coughed to get the water out of her respiratory tract, after which she shook her head to get the water off her face - and to get her still dizzy head to clear - while she slowly, grunting and moaning get up on her knees from the cold floor beneath of her.

"Ouh! My head..." Michonne moaned as she finally get to her knees, feeling her head aching like it was in fire or something and immediately tried to pull her hands towards her face to wipe the rest of water off her faces and eyes and then hold with both of her hands her from the strong head ache burning head.

After a while, when the ache in her head began to ease, Michonne lifted her head to up to a bit higher look around of her.

It was completely dark, making it to nearly impossible to say that where in the world she was.

The only lights in this entire dark place was in the next to her standing candle, which weak but still bright light was still warmly welcomed to the darkness around of her this dark place.

Michonne looked yet around of her, seeing nothing else but the darkness.

"Where I am?" Michonne said to herself...

...though that one self-question reminded her about those old detective films she had watched as a child a long before the Beginning of the End of the World, where a private detective has been knocked out cold... and when the detective always asks that very same self-question after waking up in some place - the movie's bad guys hideout or torture chamber - unknown to him or her.

However, this was far away from the old movies... because this was reality.

Michonne also noticed that she was in this dark unknown place all alone.

"Hey! Where's Rick?"Michonne asked from herself as she did not seen Rick in anywhere.

"Rick? Rick?" Michonne called the name of the man she loved.

However, there was no answer, telling to Michonne that Rick wasn't in this place whatever it was... or else Rick was somewhere else.

Michonne tried to recall everything what had happened to her.

All what Michonne correctly remembered was that she was with Rick - or partially separated from Rick - fighting against the people whom had attacked them, from the house to their camp base located in the open area in the woods and near of the road.

The forest around of the place was in fire and there was the massive herd of walkers everywhere, causing Michonne to be unable to reach to Rick, who was in the other side of the walkers and surrounded by them as well as she was.

Michonne also remembered that the last thing she saw was that Billy-guy's faces, before she felt very powerful knock against her head and went completely out... and that was all she remembered.

Michonne had no any idea that how she had get in here, and most importantly, what had happened to Rick or where he even was.

While looking around of her, the cold water, which was still running along her skin and dropped in drops from her soaking wet hair to her faces, bothered her eyes greatly from seeing anything and forcing Michonne to wipe our drops out of her eyes with her hands.

And because some one had tossed two buckets of ice-cold water over her, the water ran rapidly along her entire body and the coldness of both the water and this dark room caused Michonne to shiver out of cold.

The candle's flame was not enough to keep her warm.

So Michonne wrapped her arms around of her to keep herself warm.

Michonne even believed that she could feel her wet clothes to stick against her body's skin due to them being soaking wet like she herself.

However, she felt only the cold water only run along her body's skin.

Michonne looked down of her and noticed that some one had stripped her from her clothes, leaving herself completely naked - save for her black bikinis and her black women's underpants, which were - luckily to her mysterious captors - left untouched.

Because if she had found out she had been completely stripped, including her bikinis and her underpants, Michonne vowed that she was going to cut each of her captors limbs off with her sword.

However, Michonne soon found out that her vow just became far more difficult, and not only because of it that her sword was nowhere to see.

Michonne soon noticed that her legs started to lose their feeling, due to them being in the bent beneath of her weight and due to her being in the kneeling position for too long, though Michonne had no any idea that how long she has been on her knees.

She even felt that she was about to have cramps.

And that's why Michonne tried to get on her feet to prevent her legs to from those cramps.

However, once she made her attempt to stand up on her feet, she suddenly found it out difficult as she felt something painfully pulling her back on her knees to the ground from her neck, with the noise which sounded like the loosened chains.

After being forced to the ground, Michonne started to check her neck with her fingers, and felt that there was a some circular metallic thing around of her entire neck like a neck brace, and from which was leading four chains to four different directions.

Following one chain on her left side with her eyes, and with the help of the candle's light, Michonne found out that the chains were leading to the four metallic rings attached to the floor, two in front of her and two behind of her, and the short and easily tightened chains with their ends linked to the neck shackle around of her neck and to the rings were all together holding her in place... and the shackle's lock seemed to be behind of her head... blocking from her any attempt to escape.

Michonne coulnd't believe that she has been chained to the floor from her neck with the neck shackle like an animal to hold her still.

But why she was waken up with the bucket of ice-cold water.

That unexpected act and quite unpleasant waking up told to Michonne that there was somebody else in the room with her.

But not at all sympathizers but someone else.

Actually, Michonne did not even care that who was with her in the same dark room.

In fact, it would be enough for her if her captors just leave her locked to the neck shackle and leave her as near-completely stripped into this dark and cold place to both rot and shiver our of cold.

BUT _NOOOO_!

Immediately from the darkness appeared two bright spotlights of the torches right before of her faces, which were targeted at her.

"Hey! Whatta fuck?!" Michonne cursed and covered her eyes with her hands...

...as the bright spotlights from the torches greatly bothered Michonne's eyes, as they were slowly getting used to the darkness, once they appeared unexpectedly out from the darkness.

Michonne heard the heavy steps, which told her that someone was coming to her direction and was getting closer in any second... as well as her eyes bothering spotlights were getting even brighter.

The foot steps eventually stopped, judging of which the owners of the heavy steps and the bright torches were standing right before her.

"You really have fucking guts to do that! To blind someone unexpectedly by pointing with the bright spotlight from your fucking torches!" Michonne said to her captors, who did not responded in any way to her.

"And if you fucking assholes don't have something better things to do than torment your captivies, who happens to be chained to the floor from the neck like an animal, then I'll say that go to fuck off you fucking..." Michonne said, before she was rudely interrupted by...

"SHUT YOUR FUCKING TRAP, YOUR FUCKING BLACK SAVIOR BITCH!" One of her captors said, before he suddenly and painfully struck Michonne with the long and hard stick, whuch hit straight to Michonne's face, leaving a bad bruise to her left check and knocking her out cold.

All three of her captors just glared down at her, as she fell to the ground in unconscious.

And after that was done... in somewhere was opened the door and the light was released into the room, revealing the dark room to be the somekind of abandoned storeroom now turned into a holding cell.

And into the room stepped the large-sized, slender, muscular and firm-looking figure, who walked against the light coming from the doors, which covered most of his appearance, except that he seemed to be dressed into the military painted trousers and military boots, and he wore over himself a black trench coat.

The man was also carrying in his belt two large military knives and couple of Desert Eagle Mark XIX handguns with military print. four gun cases hanging on his back, in which he carried four Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser" shotguns and in his leftside was hanging Heckler & Koch G3A3.

The man, along with four bodyguards armed with Remington 870 Police Magnum shotguns and Norinco Type 56 rifles, eyed at Michonne's on the ground unconsciously lying body with the stern eye...

...before he turned to the man, who had just whacked Michonne's faces with the long stick, what he was holding in his hands.

As the light was released to the room, the man was revealed to be quite young adult but quite thin man with a bit chubby middle body. The man also had the red hair, blue eyes and a bit freckles in his face.

The man with the stick looked at the muscular man and his bodyguards awkwardly and with nervous expression in his face, like he had recklessly done someething he was not ordered to do to their prisoner.

The muscular tattoo-faced man looked for a long time at this guys eyes with the hard and stern cold glare.

However, the muscular man eventually turned his eyes from the nervous guy back to Michonne.

And then, he pointed harshly two other persons in the same room... and two of his bodyguards

"You four! Release this black Savior bitch from her neck shackle and bring her to Alpha's throneroom and place her under heavy guard until she'll be interrogated by our pack's alpha. And do it quick, before she wakes and attacks like the savaged wild cat."

"And because of that, don't forget to shackle her hands to the wooden posts, unless you want to see from closer an as a last thing in your lives that what this black hot chicken did to several of our pack members with the long knife, according to how he had described it." the man said sternly bur also warningly to the men.

"Yes, master Buster." the men said in unision, before they began to unlock the neck shackle around of Michonne's neck, while two of this Buster-called man's bodyguards held Michonne gunpoint with their Norinco Type 56 rifles.

Buster then turned around and started to walk off the room with his bodyguards...

...leaving the nervously after him staring guy with the stick to wonder that what was coming for him.

However, Buster then suddenly turned around and pointed with his finger at the guy with the stick.

"And take that reckless pooch to the excrement pit to shovel and cleaning work." Buster said to his with Remington 870 Police Magnum shotguns armed bodyguards.

Buster's two men immediately obeyed and roughly grabbed from the man's arms and began to drag him out of the room.

The man was badly surprised and completely caught off guard by this...

...and immediately started to protest this.

"What?! No! No! Nonononono! Not to the excrement pit! Not again! Have mercy! Don't take me to that pit! Anything but not that pit! Please, let me go!" The man pleaded with the disgusted horror, as he tried to get free from Buster's men's grasp, but with no avail.

Buster's men were too strong for the man, and even one of them was enough to keep him still... but two of them.

The man then turned his attention to Buster.

"Buster, please! What did I do now wrong to be deserved to be thrown into the excrement pit! You know that I hate that pit!" The man asked with complaining tone in the grasp of Buster's men.

"Tobias Shadow ordered us to bring this Savior bitch to his throneroom conscious, not unconscious, or was there something wrong in your ears, Buddy the Runt?! You know the rules, as any other in this Dog House. One of which is; "do not ever let the Savior to get to you!" And another one was; "the given orders must be obeyed". You screw up with both of them, labelling yourself as the bad dog... yet again!" Buster said to the man called Buddy.

"And you know the punishment for the bad pooches, Buddy. To be thrown to work in the excrement pit for twenty-four hours, which you know to be good time to think about what you have done."

"And one thing more yet, runt... I can't believe that this is already hundredth time from YOU in Doberman ranks when you screw up with given orders and get to be thrown into that pit! Why don't you just quit and do something else, if you're that tired, as you claim to be, of working twenty-four hours in that pit?" Buster asked with the annoyed tone...

...until he turned his back to Buddy and gestured with his hand for his henchmen to take Buddy away to the pit.

"You know what? Never mind. I'm not actually interested to know the reason... but my main guess is that the reason for your screws up is that you love pathing in the piles and scent of the dog's shit, don't you?"

Buster's henchmen laughed mockingly at this, before they dragged still protesting Buddy away from the room...

...and they were soon followed by Buster and the rest of his men, who took half-naked Michonne with them by dragging from her arms so that her unconscious body slid against the ground while they dragged her with them.

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

On the road leading to the Dog House.

"We got the problems! Very big, us outnumbering and extremely DEATH-SERIOUS problems after us!" Rick said.

"What kind of problems?" Both Zoe and Jackie asked from Rick.

After Rick had glanced at the side mirror, he realized that they've been chased... no one else than the group of eighty saviors - two in each forty bike - in the backs of their motobikes right on their tail, and whose number was still unknown to Rick.

They were driving right behind of them, but they were holding their fire against them.

However, three bikes suddenly drove to the van's left side and they kept approaching the van's driver's seat.

And along with drivers of the bikes, in the one of the bikes was as passanger one Savior, who looked like the leader of this group, and in the backs of another two bikes was sitting as passangers two bodyguard-like and armed saviors.

And once the bikes were close enough the van's driver's cab, the leader-like Savior then took out megaphone and turned towards the can's cab.

"Hey! Hey you! Yeah, you fucking dick in the driver's seat! Pull over, now! This is inspection of goods, Negan's goods, you're carrying inside of that van!"

Zoe's and Jackie's, though especially Zoe's, eyes widened in shock after hearing that voice like they recognized it already.

"Oh, shit! I know that voice! It's Danny! He leads a group of the Saviors, who comes every week to the border of our territory to have goods from us!" Zoe explained.

"What?! Saviors?! But this is our territory! They're not allowed to come here! We had the deal with their main boss!" Jackie said in behind.

"Rule number one, Jackie. Never trust to the Saviors' promises that they would keep their word. All what they think is their own stomach and the deals with them are only their excuses to steal more than just half and torment the other communities survivors... or even kill them without mercy... just for fun. And believe me, Jackie. I've seen this already." Rick said, before she turned to Zoe.

"But this Danny-guy. Is he the leader of these Saviors out here or...?" Rick asked, until he was interrupted by the another sound through of megaphone.

"Pull over! In the name of Jencko the Horror, Negan's second-right-hand-man and the ruler of three outposts of this area, pull over! Now!"

Rick's attention was caught immediately that name Jencko.

"Great... first they're talking continually about Negan, either with the fearful respect towards him and with tauning tone towards the others outside of his rule, and now they're talking about this fucking Jencko-guy!" Rick said with the frustration, before he turned to Zoe and Jackie.

"Who the fuck is this Jencko-guy?"

After Rick mentioned the name Jencko, Zoe snorted extremely loud out of the frustration... and unmatched disgust and hatred.

"UGH! That fucking ugly black _abomination_ full of disgustingness! Maldito sea su nombre! And if you ask me, I say that he has our fucking permission to go back to among of the other fucking black people in Africa!" Zoe screamed in frustration and rage.

However, despite being chased by the Saviors, Zoe calmed down a little bit.

Zoe also turned to look at the direction of driver's seat, where Rick was surprisingly to her glaring at her with a bit scolding look in his eyes - despite their dead-serious situation right on their tail - after noticing the pure tone of racism in Zoe's tone of voice while speaking about the black people during of her outburst...

...just as if Zoe apparently had something against the dark-skinned people. Both the good ones, such like Michonne, and bad ones, such like this Jencko-guy, who turns out to be dark-skinned guy, according to Zoe's racist attitude and talk about this guy.

Zoe immediately sensed the scolding tone in Rick's eyes without the need of words and immediately calmed down, knowing that she owed to Rick the explanation.

"Don't get me wrong, Grimes. Normally, even after all this shit has begun, I still stand against racism against the black people..." Zoe started with the apologizing tone, if Rick felt it offended for Zoe's attitude towards the black people, including Michonne and all those dark-skinned people of his group or allies who were either dead or still alive; such like Duane, Morgan's son, Jacqui, T-Dog, the prisoners Big Tiny and Oscar, Bob, Tyreese, Noah, Alexandria's Scott and Heat, Hilltop's Bertie, Gabriel, Sasha and Michonne.

"And I clearly understand if you felt offended because of what I just said, and because you yourself having a black girlfriend. I get it, because John Gabriel was in fact also one of black people and I didn't care of it if he war, but still he suffered greatly from the racism against him through of his childhood a long before the Beginning of the End of the World, and only because of his religious habits and his skin color... and I myself took the great offence of that, with the reaction of physical violence of course." Zoe explained.

"And he was not the only one who suffered from the racism against him. Even I myself suffered from it back in the high school. But the reason for the racism against me was not only because of my race and nationality, which is hispanic/american, though I've born in America, but mostly because I was far more better in hispanic language lessons, thnaks to me being born with the hispanic tongue as my heritage from my now-dead hispanic mother's side, than those stupid racist street pricks, who were always after every hispanic language lesson mocking me due to my know-how with the hispanic language... even calling me a dirty hybrid

"And the worst of them all, was Jencko, the horror of the neighborhood. That filthy black barbarian rat, who lived in the streets as an leader of the other street thugs called by name "Street Rats". He was the one who constantly tormented me... calling me a dirty abomination and always gave me the hard kick to my butt as an "Goodbye and good luck to my journey back to spain where I so-called belonged"."

"I honestly can't believe or don't know how did that dirty filthy animal, along with several of his barbarian thugs, made their way to the High School. But that animal did not even seem to be interested in studying. Far from it. Instead, that sick black barbarian was far more interested, or more likely filled with the sick desire of violence and causing the physical pain to the others."

"And believe me, He did everything to satisfy his lust for violence in the High-School... and even in the neighborhood where I lived. For example, he marked several places with more than a five-metres-long distance from him as his "territories" everywhere where he moved. And with that, he mercilessly tormented the other High-School students and passers, whom he considered as "trespassers" on his so-called territories, with the extreme ruthless territorial attitudes. And yet threatening the students with the physical violence, he stole from every student he encountered in his territory their lunch moneys, lunches or their boxes full of biscuits and pastries for the High school's bazaar as "payment" for passing his territory. He even got a couple innocent students beaten up by his thugs to half dead, because they - so he said - haven't paid for passing nor for his time of threatening them, which he considered to be the wasting of his time with them. His lust for violence was that great, that he even claimed the neighborhood children's playground as one of his territories and ruthlessly launched the attack upon ten-years old innocent children just for fun, mercilessly beating them up. He even forced some students to sell from him illegal drugs, and threatened them to never tell the police about him, or else he would have either them or their family be be beaten up half-dead."

"And even that was not yet enough for him... for example, that animal one day came with four of his gorillas into my room and locked me and himself in there, claiming that my room was his a new territory and that he owns me like enslaver. And after his barbaric goons had roughly stripped off my clothes and tied me up to my own bed from my arms and legs, and after placing his gorillas to guard my room's doors to prevent any interference, he attempted to get to me through the sexual violence... only to be interfered by the timely arrive of the police. His goons were caught, but Jencko escaped and sabotaged the police cruisers by exploding them with his hand-made bombs to give to the officers something else to worry about and buy to himself enoiugh time to escape from the cops... But not before he left an extremely offensive message for the cops to the High School's wall. "Zoe explained and took - as best as she sould due to her hands being still tied up - out of her pocket the picture of Jencko's message to show it for Rick.

Because of them being chased by the Saviors, Rick was not completely able to turn his eyes from the road to the picture right now... but he quickly paind a look at the picture of the wall, to which has been written with the red spray paint that...

"SCREW YOU, COPS! AND GO HOME TO FUCK YOUR MOTHER, WIVES AND DAUGHTERS BEFORE I COME AND FUCK THEM INSTEAD!"

Rick then turned his attention back to road.

"I understand, Zoe, and let me guess the rest. Because of his disturbed behavior, threatening, illegal drug trafficking, sexual assault on you, as well as his outrageous vandalism against the police property, He's definitely listed into the list of the most wanted people by police. Am I right? And do not bother to ask that how do I know, because you already know the answer to that by yourself." Rick said.

Zoe nodded as agreement.

"Yes indeed, and he has been wanted and searched by police for a long time. However... he just disappeared to beyond of the police's reach and he was not seen or heard for several years before the Beginning of the End of the World and all of this shit."

Zoe then let out the loud snort out of frustration.

"And... Out of all the worst nightmares in the this world without law and order... the particular guy who rose as the leader of these Savior freaks had to be...!" Zoe said, until he was interrupted by the sound of the leader of this group through of his megaphone.

"HEY! ARE YOUR FUCKING EARS FILLED WITH THE EAR WAX OR WHAT?! PULL OVER THE CAR, YOU STUPID FUCKING PRICK, OR WE'LL SHOOT YOUR TIRES TO SHREDS! I'M NOT GONNA ASK AGAIN AFTER THIS ONE MORE TIME, SO PULL OVER AND NOW!" The bikers leader ordered.

This immediately snapped Rick and Zoe out of their thoughts.

"Hello?! Zoe and... Prick?! Dick?! whatever! Do we already know each others? If we do then good! Now enough of storytelling! We have a serious problem right in our tail and you're speaking of some barbaric guy who deserves to lie in the grave! What if you two now focus completely into driving and getting us out of here as fast as you can!"

Rick couldn't agree more.

Rick turned his eyes to forward to the road, until he suddenly spotted that they were heading towards the bridge straight ahead.

There was wondering some walkers, which were all heading the underside of the bridge, like there was some unfortunate camp of survivors that had fell under of the walker attack and whom were now feasting the survivors bodies.

There was also the metallic handrail on the verges of the bridge, which ends were bent to different directions.

Taking account of this... as well as this Danny-guy and his goons right next to them, Rick formed the plant to take all three of them out with one single blow.

He then turned to the window on his side and looked to the side mirror.

"I DIDN'T HEARD YOU, YOU ASSHOLE! COME CLOSER, NEXT TO THE DRIVER'S SEAT SO THAT I CAN HEAR YOU FAR MORE BETTER!" Rick shouted to Danny through of the window, much to Zoe's and Jackie's shock and confusion.

Rick did not have to wait for an answer than just five minutes.

"Fine, and once I'm there right next to you, you fucking prick, I'm gonna speak so loudly through my megaphone to your left ear that it loses its sense of hearing for good!" Danny threatened arrogant...

...only secretly earning from Rick the sly grin, because Rick had realized that Danny had taken his bait and gone into his trap... and probably Danny and his henchmen had not even noticed the bridge and it's handrail's bent end.

Zoe looked from aside Rick's doings with confusion, before she turned to Jackie in the backside of the van.

"What that damn crazy dick is doing?" Jackie asked, to which Zoe only shrugged her shoulders.

Following the situation and this Danny-guy's and his goons cautionless - though the passanger Saviors holding the submachine guns in their hands ready to fire - approaching towards the cab of the van from the side mirror, as well as keeping an eye on the bridge and the underside of the bridge dead ahead, which indeed was one unfortunate camp full of cars and tents, now overrun by walkers, who were devouring the dead bodies, Rick waited the rightful moment to strike.

And once Danny and his goons were nearly close of the van's cab, Danny took his megaphone out and prepared to speak loudly towards Rick, though he did not saw him yet.

"Alright, prick! One last time! Pull..." Danny started, until he was suddenly interrupted...

...as Rick suddenly turned to the right and then made the hard left turn!

Danny and the driver of his bike were caught by surprise, but tjhe driver of the bike still managed to turn his bike to the left to avoid the collision with the van... and so did his bodyguards-like henchmen.

BAD MISTAKE!

Rick then quickly turned the van to the right, much to Danny and his men's surprise.

However, when they eventually turned their looks to the road, it was too late to avoid the next and un-false collision with the bridge's handrail's bent end.

The trio's - along with another bike trio's, who had thougth that Danny was about to drive in the front of the moving van to make it stop - bikes collided roughly against the bent end of the bridge's handrail and the each others, causing the collision to roughly toss Danny and the one less dozen Saviors off the road and either roll along a small hillside or fly over the bent end of the bridge's handrail and fall to the underside of the bridge...

...among of the walkers, whose attention was immediately caught by the collision of the saviors bikes against the bridge's handrail's bent end...

...and down along of them fell or along the hillside rolled Dany and the Saviors aroused interest of the walkers, who started to walk towards the saviors dying on the ground, extending their grappling dead hands towards the Saviors and growling in dead hunger!

With the bad bruises and scratches and most of them having their limbs broken either from the collision or from the fall down from the hillside - as an example, the collision had tossed one of the bikes down to the underside of the bridge and it had landed over one of Danny's legs with all its weight, breaking his knee in process - the saviors hurriedly took out their pistols and started to fire with then at the walkers.

However, the saviors were wasting their ammo to the walkers upper bodies rather than their heads... until they ran out of ammo.

The walkers then swarmed with the groups of then-fifteen walkers around of each saviors, pinned them down with their mass number and the weight of their own undead bodies and started to tear them apart, pouring the flesh and guts out of their stomaches.

Danny screamed like the little girl as the herd of zombified children started to devour and rip the flesh off the bones of his legs like the flock of piranhas.

Screaming in agony and pain, and looking around of him with his eyes to crab something to use it as an weapon against the walkers, though knowing or not accepting that it was too late for him already...

...Danny took the shovel lying next to his and started to whack with it the kid walkers head, slicing them in half.

Until more walkers came to the scene and started to devour his arms and upper body... causing Danny to scream louder in pain!

Before getting completely covered by the herd of walkers, Danny looked one more time up and saw the van driving away over the bridge.

Filling with the vengeful anger one more time...

"AFTER THEM! KILL THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS!" Danny ordered his remaining Saviors, before one walker took the wide bite from his throat, ripping off his jugular and causing him to slowly die to the loss of blood.

But before Danny fell to his final sleep, he saw from the corner of his eye that the rest of his team were going without the hesitation - including without the willingess to go down there to help their already dead leader - after the escaping van.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Tenth cliffhanger...**

 **These themselves Street Dogs calling people are taking captured Michonne to interrogation, and on the road, the angry Saviors are in the hot pursuit after Rick, Zoe and Jackie.**

 **What will happen next, we'll find out the next time.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya.** **APTER**


	11. Chapter 11: Chase Part 1

**CHAPTER 11: CHASE PART 1**

After passing the bridge, Rick pushed the gas to the bottom and increased the van's speed to go faster away from the remains of this Danny-guy's group...

...and also hoping that there is not bends on the road, because if there is even a single sharp bend, the van filled with the heavy cargo could not take such of sharp turn and may as a result to fell over to the ground... and thus cut off their escape.

However, all of what Rick focused now, was their escape from the Saviors.

But Rick also kept an eye on the side mirror to see that what was happening behind of the van.

The saviors were gaining on them again... and this time, holding their weapons in their free hands and ready to fire at them.

"Shoot their fucking tires! THEN KILL EVERY MOTHERFUCKER INSIDE!" somebody of them ordered.

Rick heard that... and so did Zoe...

...and both of them knew that to near-completely filled van had no chance to get away from the faster motorbikes and their drivers...

...who were now in intent to fire their tires to shreds to stop them... and then kill them without the mercy... probably as an punishment - in Negan's law - for killing some of them by tricking them to drive to the underside of the bridge and among of the walkers.

Zoe, quickly thinking...

"Rick! Press the brake and stop the car!" Zoe adviced.

This caused Rick to turn his completely shocked/stunned look at Zoe.

"WHAT?! ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY! IF I DO SO, THEY'LL KILL US ANYWAY!" Rick protested, questioning the particular technique's rationality.

"JUST DO IT!" Zoe screamed in frustration.

Rick snorted in frustration, but he did as Zoe adviced/forced him to do and - though still reluctantly - pressed the brakes.

The Saviors were all on their tail aimed their weapons towards the van's rear wheels and were preparing all open the fire together at them.

However, the van in front of them suddenly slowed down, judging from the sharp sound of tires rubbing against the tarmac in the rapid speed.

The saviors noticed this far too late, because they were all in collision course with the van!

And as an result, the entire group of the Savior motorbikers - or at least the eight bike with sixteen Saviors in the front of the group - collided against the van's back doors and fell over into the pile of Saviors and motorbikes...

...until they were very soon collided by twelve right on their tail following Savior motorbikes and twenty-four Savior motorbikers.

The collisions caused most of their bikes to get badly wrecked, leaving them neaarly impossible to fix, and more than just half of these saviors were severely mutilated and some of them even got killed by the motorbikes, which either landed or drove with their all weight over them, in the double-collision

Some of them tried to avoid the collision by turning their bikes course or stop theior bikes, only to lose their bikes control and either collided to the pile of wrecked motorbikes after all or fell over to the ground... and being tossed off the bikes

Only a few of the Saviors were able to slow down and avoid in time the collision with the pile of wrecked motorbikes and their either dead, severely wounded or still in one pieces - with the exception of bruises and scratches - own people.

And once the Saviors had either collided to the van/the pile of their own people and wrecked motorbikes or stopped before the collision...

...Rick hurriedly pushed the gas to the bottom and the van left from the scene, leaving the saviors behind.

However, instead of staying and helping their wounded comrades with the believe that they could only slow them down - and another big herd of walkers, which were attracted by the loud sound of the double-collision, were coming towards them...

...the remaining four bikes with eight saviors passed their fallen comrades, and were immediately joined by twenty other saviors, who had with a few bruises and scratches survived from the collision and who had hurriedly and full of anger and vengeance jumped back on their feet and picked ten motorbikes, which were only slighty damaged but still in one pieces from the collision, climbed on their backs and hurried after their comrades...

...completely and selfishly ignoring their from the collision survived but badly wounded comrades.

However, two bikes with four saviors remained behind for a moment...

...but instead of helping their wounded, and thinking more about to lure the incoming walkers towards their wounded ones in the pile instead of following them, they opened with the brutal force from every wrecked motorbike their gas tanks, allowing the gasoline to drain over the other gas tanks, the wrecked motorbikes and their either dead or wounded comrades.

And then, ignoring their wounded ones pleads after they found out that what they about to do, all three of them tossed three smoking cigarettes with the several sparks to the pile covered with the sensitively flammable gasoline... igniting the pile of wrecked bikes and their comrades into fire, before storming off.

The burning saviors scream of burning agony in middle of the flames, as well as the flames themselves lured more walkers to walk into the fire, and ignoring the heat and the flames, the burning walkers swarmed around of the burning bodies of the dead Saviors to feast.

And as the burning pile and the herd was left behind, fifteen remained Savior motorbikes drove with their full speed after the van, which had not - luckily for them - get far away from them.

"THAT WAS ENOUGH! SURROUND THE VAN AND KILL THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS! NO MATTER WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO OUR PRECIOUS CARGO! I WANT THOSE MOTHER FUCKERS SHOT INTO EMMENTAL CHEESE!" One of them, probably a second-in-command, ordered his men.

Chuckling with the pleasement, the saviors split up in order to surround the van and fire it from every side while their passangers loaded their weapons ready to fire.

And those bikes, who were supposed to surround the van from the front, increased their speed to get in front of the van.

However, this strategy was not left unnoticed by Zoe.

Zoe quickly turned to backside of the van to look for some useful... until her eyes immediatelly ended up to one of the miniguns with stand, which she and the others had used attached to the van's backside's floor next to the backdoors in case of getting under of ambush.

Now there would be use to it... but at first, she needed to get free from her bounds.

Zoe then pushed her head out of the window to look behind of them, but immediately pulled his head back in as she saw the glance of two savios in the back of one of the bikes, increasing their speed in order to get front of their van.

"Rick...?!" Zoe started, until he was interrupted by the extreme busy Rick.

"Yes! I know. The Saviors are still right behind of us. The van can not go faster than this and there's no way I can lose them!" Rick said with the desperate tone as he saw the Saviors incoming from the left side of the van.

"Then you do not need to lose them. All what you need to do is to kill them all in that place!" Zoe said.

"How! I'm alone against them! And I can't fire back at them while I'm focusing on driving the van!" Rick said back.

Zoe then extended her bound hands towards Rick.

"Then cut me loose and you have someone, who can deal the Saviors while you're driving!" Zoe said, hoping that Rick would comply that and free her from her bonds, so that she would get her hands to the minigun and prepare it for the counter-attack.

However, Rick turned his rather surprised look at Zoe.

"WHAT?! Oh, no! No deal, Zoe!" Rick said sternly determinedly, much to Zoe's surprise.

"What?! Why not?!" Zoe asked surprised and yet annoyed of that answer.

Rick started immediately explain.

"I can't risk Michonne's well-being - or even her life - by risking your own well-being or your own lives. Besides, I still don't sense the pure trusts but instead distrust and caution in you, Zoe, despite having shared some moments of our backstories with each others before those Saviors attack. Besides, if I cut you loose from your bonds, you two would only and back-stabbingly wrap something around of my neck and strangle me to death no doubt. That's why!" Rick explained sternly.

This explanation got Zoe to snort in annoyance, that Rick was still ware of her and Jackie, after having shared some of their backstories - even though Zoe hadn't told to Rick that how the Street dogs fell under Negan's rule.

"C'mon, Rick! You need us right now! Distrust aside now when we know that we have a common enemy to be destroyed!" Zoe protested with the annoyed tone.

"Only one thing I need you at the moment, Zoe, is that you guide me to your home so that I can trade you two and this van with its weapons to your leader in exchange of returning to me Michonne, my own van with its stuff and the chance to speak with him about the Saviors. therefore, the risk of mission failure is just too high that I could free you from your bonds and only to get back-stabbingly assassinated by you two... which doesn not help you when we have the group of saviors right behind of us!" Rick stubbornly reminded Zoe about his mission.

"That explanation doesn't make any sense, Rick! Your mission is already at the risk and you will save it only with the teamwork with us?" Zoe protested.

Jackie behind of the van couldn't believe that what he had just heard.

"Teamwork with that... that... fucking dick?! You gotta be kidding me, Zoe!" Jackie protested.

"SHUT YOU FUCKING TRAP, BAD DOG!" Zoe said with the such of stern cold tone, which caused the shivers to ran along both Rick's and Jackie's bodies, and Jackie submissively backed down and went completely silent.

Once Jackie had backed down, Zoe turned back to Rick.

"Rick, listen to me! Listen some sense, even though it comes from the one who threatened and even tried to kill you back on that house! I know that the trust between of two of us is not yet complete, but if you don't let us to help you to finish off these fucks and keep desperately and yet senselessly running away from them even though you yourself lnow that you cannot outmatch them in the speed nor you can lose them, you're YOURSELF putting your own mission at the risk!" Zoe explained.

"You lose this van with its stuff, you'll lose your own van with its stuff!"

"You lose me, you'll definitely lose that black bitch of yours!"

Rick's expression on his face hardened after hearing this one - as well as that Zoe called Michonne as black bitch, but he knew that it was true, that he was gonna lose either his van with its goods or Michonne, if he loses either this van with its goods or Zoe.

And yet through of one loss the most important one, for what he was going to make this entire trade with the Street dogs leader.

"And if you lose Jackie, you definitely lose your chance to talk to my alpha dog!"

"So, is that what do you want?!" Zoe asked.

Rick, of course, began to consider Zoe's request to free her and Jackie, so that they can "help" him to fend off those Saviors chasing them... as well as the possible consequences of what will happen if he chooses to free them and allow them to help or choosing instead not free them and not allowing them to help him and keep trying to get away from the Saviors... even if it would not be useful to him, because in such of race like this, the van will always be that one to lose the race, no doubt...

...but Rick also considered Zoe's options of losing one of his three targets of this trade with the Street dogs leader... Michonne, his van along its goods and the opportunity to speak with their leader about dealing with the Saviors once and for all... if he loses either one of his hostages or the can with its goods.

For Michonne's sake, as well as in the sake of his van with its goods and in the sake of the opportunity to rid the world of the Saviors for good, Rick couldn't allow that to happen.

But, he also noticed that Zoe had tried to get to him to gain his trust as well as he had just tried to get to her to gain her trust and make her to help him to get Michonne out of there, along with his can and goods and help him to get to speak with their leader.

Rick considered it as a somekind of sneaky plot against him.

"That's not what I want! But since when you have yourself started to ask me to trust you, Zoe, yet in so short period time when we have known each other? I revealed my honest purposes of my request for your trust, you, in the other hand, not! In case you din't know, I was all the time aware of the fact that you are just waiting for the right moment to make back-stabbing attempt on my life, so I think that you're probably using our situation as an excuse to get me free you and have your attempt on my life."

"So, answer to my question... why I should trust my life and my mission into your hands?" Rick asked with caution.

Zoe couldn't believe the fact that the tables had been turned. Now it was her turn to request Rick's trust in her in such of bad situation like this... and now it was Rick's turn to be distrustful and caution... even cold-gearted... towards her like she was a moment ago.

Besides, Zoe was also a bit embarrassed after Rick revealed that he knew that Zoe had been most of their trip to the Dog House awaited for a perfect moment to back-stabbingly attempt on Rick's life.

However, putting these thoughts aside...

"Rick! We have no time for this nosense! We have more bigger things to worry about, like those fucking Saviors in our tails at the moment!"

"Then answer to my question, that how do I know that you and Jackie not slice my throat with the knife once I free you two? And how I can even trust you two at all?" Rick asked sternly.

That was the one last drop, which caused Zoe to lose her cool, and following with the loud snort in pure frustration and annoyance...

"OH! GODDAMNED RICK GRIMES! DO YOU WANT YOUR BLACK BITCH BACK OR NOT?!" Zoe screamed with the sharp tone, which greatly startled Rick.

"WITHOUT ME, JACKIE OR THIS ENTIRE VN WITH OUR STUFF HAVE NO USE TO YOU TO HAVE YOUR BITCH BACK IF YOU LOSE ALL OF THEM TO THOSE FUCKING SAVIORS... AND YOU'RE NOT HELPFUL TO YOUR BITCH WITH THE SAVIOR BULLET IN YOUR SEEMINGLY THICK SKULL!"

"BESIDES, YOU'LL NEVER REACH TO DOG HOUSE WITH THE SPEED OF THIS FULLY LOADED HEAVY VAN AGAINST THE SPEED OF THEIR MOTORBIKES... NOT WITHOUT MY HELP TO BOTH GUIDE YOU AND HELP YOU DEFEND WHAT YOU NEED TO HAVE BACK WHAT YOU'RE AFTER IN THIS ENTIRE MISSION OF YOURS!"

"YOU NEED MY HELP BOTH IN THIS SITUATION AND IN YOUR MISSION... AND YOU NEED IT NOW!"

"You can deny that if you want, but you know yourself that you definitely need some help."

"So! If you wanna get your girl back, as well as your van with its goods inside and the opportunity for the discussion about our common Savior-problem, you gotta have somebody to defend them by defending this van while you drive the van away from them!"

"You have to trust me now, Rick! If all of that what did you said about your troubles with the Saviors is true, and if having your black girl back - as well as your van with its cargo - and the opportunity to speak with our alpha about the truce/alliance/teamwork between of Street dogs and your people against the Saviors to finish them off for good are one hundred percent important to you... I promise that I will help you to get what do you want from my people, either with or without even trading us and this van back to our people in exchange for returning what you want."

"I promise! With the Street dog's word of honor! For the rid the world from those fuckers once and for all! You have to trust me now! It is no use for you nor your girl to get caught and get captive of these bastards! I promise to help you, Rick Grimes! I promise!" Zoe pleaded and took in her face the pleading puppy-look, even as an human.

Zoe's speech had a great affect to Rick.

In fact, Rick needed more help than ever to rid the world of Negan, his senseless rules and his school bullies-like Saviors.

And Rick indeed needed all help he could gather for the upcoming war against the Saviors.

These "Street dogs" are one of the best chance for him as an help... with their organized system in their ranks - or packs, as they would say, their war dogs, their high-levelled toys and their common hatred towards the Saviors.

However, Rick hesitated a bit with the idea of freeing Zoe and Jackie from their bonds... fearing that they could still turn on him before he even gets to the gates of their Dog House base.

And even though Zoe had the pleading tone in her voice while promising that she would voluntarily help him with his goals, Rick started to suspect that Zoe was either dead serious or then she had something planned for him what she was hiding from him. And whatever it was, and if it ends up into the betrayal, Rick silently vowed that Zoe was going to be his Colt Pythin's next target.

However, the Saviors right behind of them - with their guns ready to fire and with the intent to kill them - told Rick that he had no alternate choice, but...

"Shit!" Rick cursed as he reached to the knife in his belt, took it out and handed it to Zoe.

Zoe took the smile on her lips and was about to take the knife from Rick...

...until Rick pulled his knife holding hand back.

"Few things before I'll allow to cut yourself free, Zoe." Rick said sternly, earning from Zoe surprised but also frustrated glare.

"One; After this is over, I will have both of you tied up again... and you two are gonna help me to get through of your defenses and inside of your Dog House. Is that clear?" Rick asked sternly, earning a nod from Zoe.

"Two; Don't make me to regret this decision... which I made only to keep you two and this van with its cargo in safe from them for trading with your alpha."

"And three; I'm gonna keep an eye on you, Zoe. And mark my words carefully. Even one back-stabbing trick, scam or fraud coming from you by attempting in my life from now on... AND I WILL KILL YOU! IS THAT CLEAR?!"

After Zoe responded to this with humble nod with the frustrated and annoyed look in her face, Rick handed over the knife into her hand.

"Thank you, asshole." Zoe said with "fuck you/go to hell"-like tone, as she started to cut her hands loose with the knife.

And once her arms were freed, Zoe hurried from the passenger's seat to backside of the van, while Rick pushed the gas down and increased to the full speed, but which was still under his control.

Zoe then returned to Rick, having with her some sock masks and handed over the black one of them to Rick.

"Here. You're gonna need this one, Rick. You have to put it on your faces before those fuckers see them." Zoe suggested, confusing Rick as he took the mask from her... though a bit reluctantly of course.

Rick took the quick look at his sock mask, noticing that the mask had around of the holes for the eyes and mouth the image of angry dog... and in this mask it was the image of angry german shepherd...

...while the other images in two other masks were the images of angry white golden retriever and an angry, and more vicious-looking labrador with the blood-covered fangs like in order to make the enemies of their wearers to shake in fear.

"And for what I need a mask, Zoe?" Rick asked, still a bit confused and reluctant to wear it.

"To cover your identy from them. These guys might be truthless and though but at the same time the biggest knuckleheads on Earth, but some of them happen to have under of their extremely low-common sense a good face-memory."

"If even one of them survives from this after seeing your faces, you'll be recognized by them... especially if some of them in here happens to be the same ones back in that night when you lost two of your good friends in the hands of their leader... well, I believe that you're probably well aware of the fact that the Saviors will ruthlessly and mercilessly hunt down anyone who had killed their men... one way or another, but in here, they'll hunt you down by using, as usually, their face memory to recognize the killer."

"And believe me! It is no use to be seen and then identified by them."

"The last guy from my people, who ended up to be seen during of one of our ambushes and who was immediately recognized by the Saviors in our drop-off point in outside of our territory's border, where we do not have power due to our agreement with the Saviors, the poor guy was ruthlessly punished with the merciless beating up... after which poor guy was barely able to even stand."

"Using these masks they can't recognize you. And if they cannot recognize you, your identity as well as your current mission in life to rid the world of the Saviors will be not at risk... but only if you use this mask to cover your face. Zoe suggested.

"But what about the angry dog images? If were supposed to cover our identities with these with these images, How do you know that they do not recognize killers one of your people, thus starting to torment your people with the intentions to punish you with the death and violence?" Rick suspiciously questioned.

"And I am seriouss about asking this, Zoe. Believe me, because due to my oen stupidity I've already experienced that." Rick added.

"The images are intent to be the last thing what those motherfuckers sees in the rest of their wreched lives, before their deaths in our paws... and very,very few of the Saviors, who had messed up with us like that, had lived to tell the tale... and not even those few have lived that long to tell the tale, because any Savior who intruders to inside of our territory, never leave here alive." Zoe explained...

...before she nearly forcibly placed the sock mask to Rick's head... accepting no reluctance or refusal from Rick but demanded Rick to keep it if he wanded to keep his identity in secret from these Saviors, and also because Rick needed both of his hands to drive the van.

And after placing Rick's mask to his head, Zoe placed her own sock mask to her own head and pushed all her hair to inside of it, though her long hair in the messy knot inside of her sock mask felt very uncomfortable.

But it was nothing compared to Rick's own.

"Eew! Do you ever wash your laundry?! This one smells like the sweat of ten man!" Rick said, openly complaining about his sock mask's current state, after sniffing the inner side of his sock mask and snorting in disgust after feeling in his nose such of scent of sweat.

Rick also heard a slight giggling behind of him... coming from Zoe.

"Quite right, prick. A small but physically harmeless payback for that painful knock against my forehead back in the ambulance after that forest fight, if you remember that, Rick." Zoe responded with the sly grin...

...before her turned her expression into dead-serious.

"But don't mind of that. Just focus to the driving. Leave defending Van and its cargo to us!" Zoe said as she rushed to cut Jackie to free.

"Whatever!" Rick said, snorting in annoyance that he had to wear the sweat-covered sock mask.

However, Rick took out his Colt Python to his hand, ready to fire with it at anyone who appears to his side's window.

Meanwhile, in the backside...

Zoe hurriedly cut Jackie's bonds and helped him up...

...after which he gave to Jackie one of the masks to cover his identity from the Saviors.

And after placing the mask over his head.

"I can't believe that you're seriously going to help that dick in his goals. If you ask me, I would just push the knife through his fucking throat and..." Jackie said, openly protesting Zoe's decision to help Rick in his goals...

...until he got the fiery slap from Zoe to his left cheeck.

"Quiet, you bad dog! And save your frustration to hose fucking goons out there, you put your will to protest away and help me to prepare our minigun into the position so that we can shred those fucking Saviors hunting us..." Zoe said, annoyed by Jackie's attitude, as she gestured with her hand at the minigun in the corner.

Jackie, still reluctant to put his distrust towards Rick and hios will to protest against Zoe's decision to help Rick, eventually nodded and moved towards the minigun... until he got pulled backward from his jacket by Zoe... until his ear was next to Zoe's mouth.

" _...And leave Rick Grimes to me._ " Zoe whispered, as she let go of him.

Whatever Zoe was planning for Rick in the near future, Jackie didn't care but responded to it with the node and treacherous-like grin, as if he was hoping Zoe to plan something for Rick, which leads to death... slowly and painfully.

However, he quickly snapped out of it - but silently continued figuring out that what Zoe had planned for Rick until they get back to Dog House - and grapped to the minigun and its stands, which he started to carry towards the backdoors of the van.

"Open fire!" Somebody ordered from outside of the van...

...before the bullets from their automatic firearms, shotguns and handguns started to fly through of the van's backside's walls...

...forcing both Zoe and Jackie, to get down and continue preparing the minigun with the stands while keeping themselves down.

While back in the cab of the van, Rick spotted that one of the Savior motorbikes with its Savior driver with the handgun and with Winchester Model 1300 shotgun armed Savior passenger were gaining on them from the left side of the van.

And as soon as they were opposite each other, both the driver and passenger opened their fire at Rick.

The door window on Rick's side and the side mirror took the devastating hit from Winchester Model 1300, while Rick pulled himself down for the cover.

Those two kept firing at the van's door with their weapons, damaging the foor...

...and they were very soon joined by two others in the back of another bike, both of them armed with the Dual 12 Gauge Sawed-Off Double Barreled Shotguns, with which they immediately opened the fire and fired at the foor and damaged it even badly... until to the point of near-separation from the cab.

Rick then turned to Zoe and Jackie.

"THERE'S TWO BIKES WITH FOUR SAVIORS FIRING AT ME FROM TWO DIRECTION! I CAN'T FOCUS ON DRIVING WHEN THEY'RE FIRING AT ME. SO GIVE TO ME MORE TOUGH WEAPON WITH WHICH I CAN GET RID OF THEM!" Rick shouted to the duo in the backside of the van.

Jackie and Zoe were at the moment attaching the minigun's stands to the floor in next to the backdoors, while theit attention was caught by Rick's shounting... as well as Rick's careless driving while being pinned down by the heavy and devastating gunfire from the next of him.

"JUST TELL ME THAT WHERE THEY ARE, DICK!" Jackie shouted back, as he left Zoe to prepare the minigun ready to fire by herself - after Zoe had gestured to Jackie, that she'll handle the rest of the preparation of the minigun with the stands by herself and gestured him to help Rick - and rushed one of the boxes in the van's arsenal, taking from it one of many Mossberg Model 464 rifles and loaded it fully.

"ONE BIKE IS RIGHT NEXT TO ME AND ANOTHER ONE RIGHT BEHIND OF IT... I GUESS, ALMOST RIGHT NEXR TO YOU, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LEFT WALL!" Rick said, locating the bike's straight locations in the left side of the van by his memory, before being hammered by the heavy gunfire.

There was then suddenly, completely unexpectedly, couple shots from the shotguns, which came through of the van's vall, damaging and knocking over some boxes leaning against that part of the wall and causing two large holes to the vall.

However, Jackie was far from being shocked of this... instead, he was pleased of this.

"Just like ordered..." Jackie declared, claiming that these Saviors had just done to him the great favor.

Jackie quickly peeked to outside of the upper hole and saw one of the bikes with its Saviors right next to him...

...before he pushes rifle's barrel through the hole to outside and aimed with it the Saviors.

Jackie fired at the saviors five shots.

Jackie was a skilled and accurate shooter, because he at first and carefully aimed with his Mossberg Model 464 rifle to the Saviors hands before firing with it...

...severely damaging the Saviors gun-holding hands, shooting off some of their fingers and making the saviors to shout out of burning pain in their hands, and thus disarming both of them...

...before Jackie turned his gun a bit to the left and fire two shots to the Savior passenger... one to the Savior's chest and one in the middle of his forehead, killing the passenger, before he turned his weapon to the driver and fired a single shot through of his head.

The shot was enough to toss the lifeless Savior off the bike's back and send him to fly to ditch.

The Saviors in the back of bike, which was driving next to the cab, turned to look over their shouldders to behind of them after their attention was caught by the loud gunshots and the loud cry out of pain behind of them...

However, the last thing the passenger Savior saw in his life, was the barrel of Mossberg Model 464 rifle peeking out through of the hole in the van's wall, which eventually fired two shots to the Savior's back.

The Savior cried in pain, as he fell backwards and off the back of the bike.

The Savior driver of the bike tried to escape...

...but he never did...

...as Rick emerged out from behind of the badly wrecked side door and aimed at the Savior with his Colt Python... while Jackie aimed with his rifle at the Savior driver into the head.

And then, both Jackie and Rick fired at the same time... hitting the Savior to his temple and occipital, definitely completely destroying both his skull and brains, as the bullets bursted out from the left temple and from the forehead of the Savior.

The bike then fell over with its lifeless driver to the ground.

Rick's and Jackie's gunshots were answered by the another round of gunshots targeted at them, forcing them both to get down to cover from the fire.

However, as the gunfiring faded away, enabling Rick and Jackie to get up, they soon realized that the gunfire was only a coverfire.

And they realized its purpose soon enough!

Sudddenly, three another bikes with six saviors, whi had used their own gunfire revealed as coverfire as their advantage to sneak behind of the van's defenders backs in front of the van, emerged out in the right side of the van...

...and had immediately opened fire with Colt M4A1, FN FAL and Norinco Type 56-1 at the cab, while one of the drivers drivers opened fire at them with couple Springfield Armory TRP pistols and Remington 870 Sawed-off shotgun, forcing Rick and Jackie to get down again.

Jackie tried to answer to fire, but the heavy gunfire coming from three direction greatly bothered his focus in aiming and caused him to miss his target with couple last shots.

"FUCK!" Jackie cursed, before he tossed his rifle away and picked as his a new weapon the automatic L85A1 rifle.

And with it, he at first fired through of the right side of the wall from the spot he believed one of the bikes to be... forcing it to back off a little bit so that the right flank will be temporarily secured.

And then, Jackie opened the fire at two Saviors in the back of one going bike, which was closer to them.

The coverfire allowed also Rick a chance to emerge out from the cover and fire with his Colt Python at the another bike a bit further away.

Jackie finished off one bike's Saviors with ease, killing them instantly with the automatic fire...

...but Rick had a bit difficulty to focus both things at the same time; shooting with his gun at the Saviors and driving fully loaded van.

Rick wasted from his Colt Python six shots at the Saviors dead ahead, missing every shot and bitterly cursing it.

However, one of the shots managed to scratch this bike's driving Savior's helmet from the place of its left temple, knocking the driver's head to another side and causing him accidentally to turn his bike's course right in the front of the van.

Rick did not hesitate to drive over of the Saviors but instead of slowing down, Rick increased the van's speed to full... and proceeded by ramming against the bike with the front of the car and driving over the surprised Saviors, killing them both in the process.

The collision with the Saviors caused some blood to splat over the van's front cover and through the devastated windscreen to his faces, bothering his view... and which accidentally caused him as well to turn to the left as there was sixth bike and two Saviors coming right from the left.

Both the Saviors had as their weapons Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser" shotguns, and they had prepared to fire with the common shot to the already and badly damaged side door, which would have break the door off the cab and maybe even killed Rick at the process if Rick had not turned the van timely to the left due to the blood from the now-dead Saviors, over whom he had just driven.

The van's sudden and completely unexpected turn to their direction surprised the Saviors...

and the bike's Savior driver tried his best to evade the collision against the van's left side, unfortunately, only to notice that they were in the middle of out of nowhere appeared concrete wall on their left side and with the full speed driving van on their right side.

Because none of them, no the saviors in the bike and not the defenders of the vam... probably except some Saviors driving behind of the van... that they had hust driven into underpass tunnel.

However, in the middle-way of the tunnel, the bike's Saviors were unable to get out if the way of towards then with the full speed turning and driving van...

...and they were about to get crushed between of the van and the tunnel's wall.

And they were eventually crushed in between of the wall and van!

And the collision against the wall was enough to roughly knock over everybody and everything stacked on top of each other against the right side's wall to the floor in the backside of the van.

The collision also finally removed the already badly damaged side door in driver's seat.

And the collision also nearly throwed Rick - who was still focusing to wipe off the blood out of his view with his hand - off the driver's seat and nearly out of the cab, nearly causing him to fly against the wall and share the same painful death the Saviors were suffering now in the middle of the van and the wall.

However, Rick managed to struggle to keep his balance in the driver's seat.

And in the van, after the collision and during of driving against the wall with the full speed...

Zoe struggled to keep her herself and the minigun on the stands, which she has not yet managed to attach to the van's backside's floor, in balance...

...but Jackie was immediately covered by the pile of boxes and guns standing against the right wall of the van's backside, which was knocked over him by the collision against the tunnel's wall.

And the Saviors, as well as their wrecked bike, were brutally mutilated to death in between of the van and the wall as the van kept rubbing it's left side against the wall with the full speed, leaving the long line if blood to the underpass tunnel's left side's wall.

It was then when Rick finally managed to wipe the blood off his view and immediately turn the van off the underpass tunnel's wall...

...and at the same time dropped both the wrecked bike and the bloody and broken bodies of the Saviors, with their clothes in shredsm their limbs gone out of their places and their bloody faces were left completely unrecognizable after they had been rubbed against the tunnel's wall while going along with the van's speed, wwhich had tore the flesh off their faces.

With its left side half-damaged from rubbing against the tunnel's wall in the full speed, the van - as well as the remaining bikes and the Saviors on their backs - made it out of the tunnel.

And it did not took long from Jackie to dog himself up from the pile of guns and boxes.

"WOW! WHATTA HELL?! FROM WHERE YOU HAVE RECEIVED YOUR DRIVING LICENSE, DICK?!" Jackie angrily scolded.

"WELL, YOU TRY TO DRIVE AFTER HAVING SOME BLOOD IN YOUR VIEW!" Rick shouted back out of frustration...

...until his attention was caught by the fifth bike and its Savior driver and passenger in the van's right side.

The Savior passenger took then from his back his extra weapon, Remington 870 Wingmaster shotgun, and started with it to fire the multiple shots at the cab's right side door's attachment point...

...until with eighth shot, the side door finally broke off its place, leaving no cover for Rick against their bullets now.

However, Rick still had a one shot in his Colt Python, which he lifted to the air and aimed wit hit at the bike's driver, hoping to take noth the Saviors out with one shot to the driver's head...

...as the passenger threw his shotgun awar from his hands, and with the nasty-looking knife and Desert Eagle Mark VII pistol in his hands, the Savior seemed to prepare himself for the daredevil leap towards the cab's doorway.

And the Savior leaped towards the cab's doorway as Rick fired his last shot at the Savior driver.

The shot hit to the Savior driver's head, killing him and knocking him with his bike off the road.

However, the passanger managed to have the grip from the cab and remained to hang from it, before the Savior struggled to get inside of the cab, stubbornly ignoring the van's full speed and the wind.

And once he reached to inside, the first thing he did was to lift his pistol up and aim at Rick's head with it.

And with no any ammo in his Colt Python left to defend himself...

"HOLD ON!" Rick warned the others, before he started to make the sudden and rapid turns from side to side, in order to bother the Savior's focus in aiming and shooting with his pistol...

...or, if luck was with Rick, to even throw the Savior out through of the doorway.

However, after couple rapid turns, the Savior struggled stubbornly to keep his balance...

...and fired at Rick's direction two inaccurate shots.

One shot missed him...

...but the another one scratched his arm from above, which caused Rick to loudly cry in pain.

Getting shot wasn't a new for Rick, after all, he ha been shot three times in his entire life... two times before the End of the World and one time after the End of the World back in the prison.

But, the pain greatly burned his arm, causing him to grit hard his teeth, and which bothered greatly his driving the van in the full speed and escaping from the punch of Saviors on their trail, no matter how hard he struggled in order to try to ignore the pain.

And his definitely bad situation was not helped by the fact that there was one Savior right next to him...

...preparing to lunge at him and stab with his nasty-looking knife to his throat, gladly willing to deliver to Rick such of wound to his throat, which would kill him slowly and painfully to the loss of blood or causing him to choke in his own blood.

Though his arm burned like hell from a one single movement...

...Rick hurriedly backed away from the Savior, even though he could not retreat any more, or else he would fall through of the doorway to the road.

"Cornered like fucking rat, you fucking dick!" The Savior taunted sadistically, realizing that he had cornered Rick to the verge of death.

The Savior thought for a moment, that should he kill Rick by...

...blasting with his pistol Rick's brains out...

...or slash his throat open with his knife and kill him to the loss of blood or let him to choke to his owwn blood...

...or should he either kick him out of the cab through of the doorway...

...or should he to throw him out of the windscreen, that he would fall in fron of the van and get driven over by the full speed driving van.

However, the Savior decided to choose the killing blow with his knife and lunged at Rick... shouting with the bloodthirst!

However...

...the Savior was suddenly caught by the minigun-fire.

Rick peeked over his shoulder to look behind of him to see that who was firing with Minigun.

It was Jackie! Lying on his back in the floor of the backside of the van and holding in his arms the large minigun.

While the Savior's attention was in Rick, Jackie had spotted one of the Saviors inside of their van and reacted to it by grabbing from somewhere the another minigun and firing with it at the Savior, before he managed to lunge at Rick and deliver to him the killing blow.

"Shot down like the "sitting duck", you big fucking ugly gargoyle of rubber duck!" Jackie taunted back, as he kept mercilessly firing at the Savior.

Most of Jackie's minigun's fire was targeted at the Savior's middle-body, but some of the minigun shots had hit the Savior into his faces, tearing the flesh off the Savior's faces and leaving them to unrecognizable...

...and the minigun's rapid firing mauled the Savior's middle-body so long that it eventually cut the Savior's lifeless body in half.

Jackie eventually quit the fire and the Savior's two parts of the Savior's entire body fell over the passenger's seat, covering it and the entire passenger's side with the Savior's blood and mutilated guts.

Jackie smiled at his kill...

...But he did not have time to celebrate it as he felt that their van was slowing down.

And so, Jackie threw the minigun off his arms, jumped on his feet and rushed to the driver's seat.

And there, he realized, that Rick was half-struggling with the burning pain coming from the gunshot's scratch in his arm, which was greatly bothering his driving the van... causing them to slowly lose their speed...

...and the remaining Saviors right behind of them were once again trying to surround them from every side, every direction and every corner... with intention to kill them by firing at them from every corner with the bikes passenger Saviors guns.

And so, Jackie grabbed from Rick's clothes and roughly pulled him off the driver's seat.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY, YOU FUCKING SLUG!" Jackie rudely said and tossed Rick over to the floor in the backside of the van, before he sat down to the driver's eeat and began to driver the van by himself...

...increasing the van's speed in order to try to lose the Saviors driving on the backs of their bikes.

Meanwhile, in the backside of the van, Rick struggled with his sore and out of pain burning arm to lean against the inner wall of the van.

Until then, he remembered that what Jackie did call him before rudely dragging and tossing him off the driver's seat.

"YOU TRY TO DRIVE WHILE STRUGGLING WITH THE BURNING ARM AFTER GETTING SHOT!" Rick shouted back at Jackie, who ignored him immediately and focused completely to drive the van and escape from the Saviors.

However, they were soon pinned down by the another messy gunfire from behind of them and from both of the sides.

"What's taking so long with that minigun, Zoe?!" Jackie shouted to Zoe over his shoulder with the impatient tone.

"Only a couple of three bolts yet, Jackie! This beauty needs to be attached to the floor firmly, or else it will escape out of control!" Zoe responded, as she was still attaching the minigun's stands to the floor.

"Zoe! We still have fucking eight bikes left on our tail! That minigun should have been ready ten minutes ago!" Jackie shouted back with frustrated tone.

"What can do about it?! These sudden turns and that collision against the wall messes and bothers my concentration with attaching this beauty to the floor. But take my advice! Whatever you're going to do to buy me more time, Just do it, but at least try to avoid sudden turns and collisions in the future, or else, this will never be finished!" Zoe responded back with frustration tone, before she continued her work.

"Whatever!" Jackie responded with annoyed tone, before he focused on driving.

Knowing that he might be needed in the cab, despite his burning wound in his arm...

...and feeling himself to be at least now a bit able to ignore the burning pain in his wounded, blood-covered and sore arm, Rick crawled up on his feet and slowly moved towards the passenger's seat...

...only to see, and remember, that on that seat was lying dead that Savior in two pieces, and the seat was mostly covered with the blood and guts.

Rick twisted his nose with disgust, though he had used to see the walker guts back in Atlanta and in Alexandria during of the massive walker invasion... as well as many times over the walkers ripping the guts out of their victims bodies...

...before Rick eventually grabbed from the Savior's body parts and the guts and tossed all of them outside through of the doorway, before he, ignoring the blood and a few remaining pieces of the Savior's guts, sat down to the passenger's seat.

Jackie did not paid any attention to Rick's presence...

...nor even asking the well-being of his arm, but instead, focusing more to the driving and escaping from the Saviors...

...which Rick took a bit offense, but quickly threw it out of his mind and focused himself to the road... as well as to the Saviors right behind of them.

Until both of him and Jackie spotted something on the road a some distances away from them.

"Oh! Fucking bitch nuts!" Jackie said.

"What is it?" Rick asked, as he pulled from the van's armory Colt M16A4 equipped with a telescopic sight and lifted it up to his head's level - doing his best to ignore the burning pain in his arm, which he had to use ti lift the weapon up - so that he could see what Jackie had saw a moment ago.

"You're gonna need a much more tougher weapon than automatic sniper rifle to handle them all." Jackie said and pointed with his finger to the road.

Rick looked to the direction Jackie pointed with his finger.

There was on the road the large roadblock, which consisted from eight Dodge Dakota and Ford F-150 SuperCab XLT vehicles, which were all mounted by the Browning M2HB machine guns, and one AM General M35A3 and twenty bikes with couple Saviors on each bike's back.

And there was at least eighty heavily armored Saviors, plus roughly thirty Saviors more onboard AM General M35A3 truck.

Making at least over one hundred and ten Saviors.

"THOSE MOTHERFUCKING CRYBABIES! THEY SERIOUSLY BELIEVE THAT THEY DO OWN THIS TERRITORY OF OURS?!" Jackie said, extremely annoyed that the Saviors had dared to cross the border of their territory to either wreak havoc of their territory or hunt them down... with such of numbers.

"No matter. Soon they'll be one hundred and ten Saviors less!" Jackie growled.

This massive roadblock strategy of these Saviors wasn't new to Rick... in fact, it was more than just familiar to him, making him to recall those moments when the Saviors tormented him and his friends with the countless times of roadblocks of the cars and the heavily armed numbers while trying to take Maggie to Hilltop.

And then, one of the Saviors took out the megaphone and started to talk to them through of it.

"YO! YOU PRICKS IN THE VAN! WE DEMAND YOU TO STOP YOUR VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY! DON'T TRY TO RAM YOUR WAY THROUGH! WE HAVE ALREADY ENSURED THAT YOUR FOOLISH ATTEMPT WILL STOP LIKE INTO THE WALL IF YOU TRY! SO STOP YOUR FUCKING VEHICLE NOW AND COME OUT YOUR FUCKING CUNNING HANDS UP AND IN SEEN. DENY US, AND WE'LL GLADLY GIVE YOU A GOOD TASTE OF OUR FIREPOWER!" The Savior with the megaphone demanded.

However, Jackie only spit disdainfully to the Savior's demands.

"You really think that the fucking pile of vehicles is enough to stop the Street dogs, asshole?! Have a tank of two, fucking butt-face, and I'll be then truly convinced of your threats." Jackie mocked.

"I've faced this strategy before... you better not stop, though I don't know that how were supposed to get past of all of them with the van, which seems not to be redesigned for the ram attacks." Rick said with the concerned tone.

"Not to worry, Dick. They may have numbers and some toys along with the massive roadblock with no way to pass them... but they extremely lacks for brains and more devastating toys." Jackie said with the grin on his face.

"We have a plan, though we've never used it against this big crowd. Go get a couple riot shields as the cover and one rocket launcher... and keep hurry, because once I pull the gas to the bottom and we get closer of them with the full speed, they'll say "Hi there! Nice to meet you" with the heavy gunfire. NO GO, before I kick you to backside to get them!" Jackie said rudely.

Rick only snorted in annoyance and hurried to backside to retrieve two riot shields and one rocket launcher.

Despite his still burning injury in his arm, Rick kept hurry and returned after nearly ten minutes to the cab with couple riot shields and one with four rockets loaded rocket launcher.

Without asking, Jackie grabbed from Rick one of the riot shields and placed it to his left side and hand that it won't bother his driving...

...and Rick placed his riot shield to his right side and hand, to allow his wounded though slightly bleeding arm to rest a little bit, but the rocket launcher Rick keot over his knees and ready for to be used.

The megaphone wielding Savior then spoke again through of megaphone.

"HAVE YOUR EAR WAX IN YOUR FUCKING EARS OR WHAT?! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! STOP THE VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY!" The Savior demanded.

"AND SUCK YOUR MOTHER'S DICK, ASSHOLE!" Jackie shouted back.

This visibly angered the Savior, with the megaphone, quite possibly not emotionally, of course.

So he angrily tossed megaphone away and grabbed to his Heckler & Koch MP5K-PDW and aimed with it at the van.

"TEAR THEM AND THAT FUCKING VAN APART!" The Savior furiously demanded.

"SHIELDS! NOW!" Jackie signaled.

Rick and Jackie placed the shields immediately front of them...

...as all one hundred and ten Saviors started to fire with everything they had at the van.

And even the Saviors in the bikes behind of the van opened their fire at the van.

Thanks to the riot shields, Rick and Jackie survived from the heavy gunfire undamaged, but the heavy gunfire tore apart the cab's and the backside's roof and the upper side of the backdoors... as well as the van's backside's walls.

Zoe hurried to the cab and gave Rick Heckler & Koch MP5K, while she herself took Jackie's L85A1 rifle, hurriedly checked a state of its ammunition magazine, before eventually ending up to hurriedly reload it...

...and both Rick and Zoe opened the fire at the Saviors from the cover, forcing some Saviors to get into the cover, pinning them down, or even killing with the lucky headshots...

...though the heavy enemy gunfire nearly forced them every time to get cover from their stray bullets.

"ZOE! GET ALL EXPLOSIVES AND THE EXTRA GAS COVERED! LAST THING WE WANT IS THAT WE EXPLODE OUT OT THE SKY WITH KAMIKAZE-STYLE!" Jackie ordered, and Zoe immediately rushed to obey it.

The van's front side took the more heavier gunfire from the Saviors, probably as an attempt to destroy the van's engine.

But, much to Rick's surprise, Rick saw through of the shield's class that the van's front plate withstood a surprisingly very heavy gunfire.

Jackie spotted Rick's surprised expression on his face.

"A few extra layer of the pansar plates from the tanks, Dick. Planned for such of situations like this one. We quite lack the engineers and the repairing supplies, most of them selfishly taken by the Saviors, so we try to protect our vehicles most vulnerable places as good as possible." Jackie explained.

Jackie then pressed the gas to the bottom and increased the van's speed to the full speed.

The Saviors in the roadblock were quite surprised that even under of their heavy gunfire, the van was still coming towards them with the full speed.

Many of them even hold their fire and started to back off to get out of the way.

And once the gunfire faded more than half...

"NOW, DICK! BLAST THEM! FROM THE LEFT TO THE RIGHT AND HURRY, BEFORE WE ARE IN THE COLLISION COURSE!" Jackie ordered, pointing with his finger at the rocket launcher on Rick's knees.

Hurriedly Rick lowered his own riot shield and grapped to the rocket launcher, which he hurriedly - and struggling to ignore the pain in his wounded arm - lifted on his right shoulder and aimed towards the roadblock in dead ahead.

"Such of pity we haven't such of toys back then in the situation like this." Rick murmured, complaining his and his people's misfortune that they had not such oif weapons, which could have been more than just useful against the roadblocks on that unfortunate and horrible day.

"TAKE THE SHOT, DICK! NOW!" Jackie ordered.

No needing to aim at the target in dead ahead for too long, but also taking into account that they were going into the collision course with the roadblock within over ten seconds, Rick fired all four rockets in the line at the roadblock.

Zoe had also joined to this with couple of Airtronic RPG-7 and fired their missiled against the Savior's military truck... aiming to its gas tanks.

The Saviors noticed this kind of counter-attack against them too late and tried to get to the cover.

Hoverer, soon after the rockets and couple missiles hit to the ground in between of the Saviors and their vehicles, it was followed the pretty big BOOM from the missiles, rockets and the Saviors vehicles gas tanks and extra gas barrels.!

The mega-explosion tore most of the Saviors apart and the mega-flash of the flames swallowed many of them, burning them extremely badly, and the both the explosion and the fire together completely destroyed most of their vehicles.

And before the explosion, a bit more than half of the Saviors in the military truck's fenced platform had tried to save their skin by jumping off their military truck and ran for their lives to another direction, only to be knocked off by the shockwave of the explosion of the missiles and the gas tank of the military truck...

...which was tossed in the air by the explosion and towards the escaping Saviors, who had been hurriedly and for their lives to climb on their feets...

...until in the air briefly flying and twirling flaming truck had landed over the unsuspecting Saviors with all its weight, crushing every Savior to the death, or trapping couple of the Saviors beneath of its weight.

Rick, Jackie and Zoe hurriedly went down for the cover, as the pieces of the wrecked vehicles and the mutilated or burned bodies of the Saviors, tossed by the force of the explosion, started to fly all around of the area, including at the van's direction.

Through of the windowless windscreen opening flew bloody and extremely badly mutilated and burned body of the Savior, whose faces had been both burned and mutilated to the skull from the left side of his faces.

The body caught Zoe by surprise, as it unexpectedly flew over of Zoe through the windscreen and knocked him over to the ground, above of the pile of guns.

Zoe recovered quckly from this surprise and lifted the body off her with her hands, but once she took one glance at the Savior's hideously to the skull burned and mutilated faces in the left side of his faces, shocked Zoe hurriedly kicked the body away from him.

Such of shock and the sight of the Savior's faces left to her temporary nauseous feeling, nearly causing her to vomit.

"EW! EW! EW! DISGUSTING!" Zoe complained with disgust...

...as she climbed up and reluctantly grabbed to the body, which she then dragged from its burned clothes to the van's sidedoor, whuch she then opened and tossed the body outside of the van... leaving only the blood trail to the floor of the van.

The mega-explosion also tossed the cars in one pieces all around, some it tossed into the air, which flew in the arch in the air before they fell back to the ground, while the explosion threw some flaming cars straight away from the explosion point, which then collided against some escaping saviors, either pushing them forward and to the ground with skull-crushing or neck- or spine-breaking force or landed over them to the ground, killing them.

One of the cars, which was tossed into the air by the explosion, flew towards the van with the high speed...

...but instead of hitting to the trio in the cab, it tore with it all of it what was left from the cab's and the van's backside's roofs, which was already tore apart by the Saviors heavy gunfire.

After the flaming car had tore the upper part of the van off, it flew towards the Savior bikers in behind of the van.

The van landed over two bikes with four Saviors, who had spotted the flaming and towards them flying van too late, and they all got crushed to death by the flaming car's killing weight... leaving only six bikes and twelve Saviors behind of them.

With the full speed, the van passed quickly the flaming cars and the truck and drove through of the flaming wall in the road above of the flaming gas, which had flown to the road from the Saviors exploded extra-gas barrels and lighted into the fire, so that the extreme heat and the flames would not touch their own van's gas tank nor to their extra gas and blow them up.

And once passing the flaming wall of fire and the wrecked and burning vehicles and the burning dead bodies of the Saviors, the van kept going on the road.

The six Savior bikes too drove through of the flaming wall of fire, but only two of them got through of the fire without getting themselves on fire.

However, the rest of four didn't made it, because...

...one of the bikers' bike slipped on the flaming liquid and fell in middle of the flaming wall of fire, throing both the driver and passenger into the fire and burning them to death.

Second bike's driver tried to stop his bike by hitting the brakes, but there was too much speed, which together with the hasty braking caused the Savior driver to lost the control over the bike... which eventually fell over to its side to the ground and roughly tossed bith the driver and passenger to the ground...

...who then rolled along the tarmac, getting some bad and bleeding bruises, and towards of the flaming wall of fire. They eventually rolled into the flaming wall and caught at the same time some flaming liquid from the ground to their clothes, hairs and skins, before they stopped rolling along the tarmac right to the another side of the flaming wall.

However, once they stopped rolling along the tarmac, they both started to cry in pain as they rolled ojn the ground in order to extinguish the fire in their skins, hairs and clothes... but they were already consumed by the fire and the flaming liquid that trying to extinguish it was already pointless.

Two remaining bikes attempted to drive through of the flaming wall of fire, but they attempted to do so from the spot, where the liquid was flown in the narrow trails, thus the fire was not as high and thick as in the middle of the road.

However, because of the gap between of the flaming wall of wire and one of the wrecked flaming vehicle was quite narrow, the Saviors were forced to slow down a little bit to avoid the collision against the other vehicles and go one by one through... though it wasted much of their time.

However, there was several from the explosion survived Saviors' extra-gas barrels in the platform of the wrecked car, which the Saviors were right now passing with their bikes. And now when the barrels were right now surrounded/consumed by the flames of the vehicle...

...though the barrels managed to temporarily hold back the fire, preventing it from reaching to the gas inside of them, until the fire eventually found the way in the one barrel through of the gas leak, which gas had flown to impact with the burning gas and led the fire right to the damaged barrel...

...it did not took long before all the gas in the barrels had caught the fire, which caused another explosion right in the next of the Saviors.

The gas barrels exploded, swallowing the Saviors and their bikes with the fire, before tossing their burned bodies and flaming bikes aside.

As two through of the flaming wall of fire survived bikes continued the chase, they were soon joined by nineteen other from the explosion survived Saviors, who quickly picked nine bikes and climbed on their backs, two Saviors in each bike and one extra passenger Savior in one of them, after which they all pressed their gas to the bottom and gave chase after the van.

Even couple of the Saviors' from the explosions barely survived Ford F-150 SuperCab XLT cars, along with the crew of eleven from the blast survived Saviors and mounted with Browning M2HB machine guns hit the gas to the bottom and gave the chase after the van.

And, with the blind lust of killing and vengeance in their mind, they were quickly gaining on the van yet again.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Eleventh** **cliffhanger...**

 **Rick, Zoe and Jackie** **have survived with a large amount of luck through the first wave of this ambush, but the Saviors aren't done yet.**

 **What will happen next, we'll find out the next time.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya.**


	12. Chapter 12: Chase Part 2

**CHAPTER 12: CHASE PART 2**

Back in the van...

...the trio was not cheering the destruction of the roadblock of the Saviors, due to them being still aware that it was not yet over, because they had already spotted that they have been followed yet again by the Saviors.

And because they were about to hammer them from behind with their large machine guns, Rick helped Zoe to finish the preparations of the minigun by placing the riot shields to the minigun's each side to cover the shooter...

...because over their van flew flaming car had bent the backdoors so that their upper side had detached from its hinges... and the backdoors, which were already in the point of separation, were kind of hanging from the lower hinges. And if the last hinges would loose off, they would lose their last protection for their backs...

...and the saviors were already firing at the backdoors with the bikes passenger's guns and Browning M2HB machine guns.

"IS THE MINIGUN NOW READY?!" Jackie asked from the driver's seat impatiently.

Zoe, who had with Rick's help managed to attach the minigun's stands completely to the van's backside's floor, had started to load the minigun with its own ammunition magazine.

"DONE! MINIGUN IS READY NOW!" Zoe informed after she had finished the preparations.

"FINALLY! THEN BLAST THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS TO KINGDOM COME!" Jackie ordered.

Zoe get herself ready to behind of the minigun, until she turned to Rick.

"Rick, if you please?" Zoe asked, gesturing with her hand at the shotguns in next to her and Rick and then the last hinges of the backdoor.

Rick then realized that what Zoe meant.

It was out of the question that Zoe would have ask Rick to open the backdoors by the normal way...

...because of the Saviors, who were already firing at the van's loosened backdoors, and Rick could have several hits from the gunfire on his back while trying to move out of the way of the minigun...

...and yet the van's speed along with the hard wind, which flowed inside through of the windowless windscreen opening, would together push Rick backwards and cause him to be threw out of the van ton the road... at the mercy of the Saviors.

"Pleasure." Rick responded...

...and took two Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser" shotguns to his hands, which he then quickly loaded...

...lifted with both of his hands, gritting his teeth out of the burning pain in his arm from the gunshot of one Savior...

...aimed them to the lower hinges...

...and fired!

Both shots were enough to separate the hinges off the van, which caused the backdoors to fly off from the van and fall to the road...

...right in the front of the Savior bikers, who were forced to hold their fire and try to avoid from the van's backside separated backdoors.

However, Zoe pressed the minigun's trigger and began to fire at the Savior bikers... along with Rick, who had picked IMI ACE 21 from the van's arsenal and fired with it at the Savior bikes.

Couple first bikes and four Saviors were immediately fired to death by the minigun and IMI ACE 21, causing the bikes to fall over to the ground and throwing the dead Saviors, with their bodies full of the bleeding holes from the minigun's fire, off their backs to the ground.

The remaining seven bikes and their Savior drivers doubled their efforts to avoid the miniguns fire... and behind of them with the full speed driving vehicles, the Saviors tried to fire the cover fire to cover the progressing of their own in the bikes with their Browning M2HB machine guns and their passenger's guns.

However, their shots were stopped by the riot shields covering protectively both Rick and Zoe, when they temporarily ceased fire.

Zoe soon found out that trying to take those bikers down with the minigun's fire revealed to be a bit more difficult than before.

Those drivers were apparently a good drivers, Just as they were trained to dodge the heavy minigun-fire while driving.

However, despite that, one of the bikes was caught by the gunfire when minigun's gunfire shredded the bike's front tire, causing the bike to briefly jump to the air, causing the Savior driver to loose the control over his bike and knocking both the Saviors off the bike's back...

...causing them both to roll in high pace along the tarmac, which caused them to have some nasty-looking and either bleeding or out of the pain burning bruises.

And even though they both managed to survive, as they were about to get up from the ground, one of the vehicles behind of the bikes suddenly drove over them, causing their heads to be smashed/crushed against the car's panel... killing them at once.

Back in the van...

As Rick kept firing at the Saviors, he managed to saw the glimpse of two bikes with their Savior drivers and passenger disappearing behind of the van's left side wall... and it was approaching the cab's driver's seat!

Rick then realized, that the Saviors doubled efforts to avoid the heavy minigun-fire was only the Saviors diversion to take Zoe's attention from two of them to the rest of them... so that that one was able to sneak undetected to the driver's seat ti kill driver and stop the van.

"Jackie! Two of the bike is coming right from...!" Rick shouted to Jackie's direction...

...until he was interrupted as he nearly was caught by the another heavy lethal gunfire from the Saviors and was forced to get down for the cover.

"WHAT DID YOU SAID, DICK?!" Jackie said...

...until the bike and its two Saviors emerged out of nowhere to the next to the driver's seat and him.

And after Jackie noticed them and before he managed to grab to his handgun, the bike's passenger jumped off the bike's back towards the driver's seat the knife in his hands and landed over Jackie...

...causing them to struggle with each others with the different intentions, Jackie trying to focus on driving and to keep the van's pace in full while trying to prevent the attacker from killing him and trying to push him out of the van's cab...

...while the attacker tried with the brutal force to push his knife to Jackie's faces or throat, so that he can slow down the van's pace and eventually stop it, while trying also to stay onboard of the van.

Their struggle caused the van to curl like the snake from the other side of the road to another...

...and along with that, their sturggle also caused their van's pace to slowly but certainly to slow down.

However, Jackie managed temporarily to press the gas to bottom to keep the van in its full pace to get escape from the Saviors, though struggling with one of them made it difficult.

And the Savior's vehicles were gaining on them.

However, the van's slowing down caused the Savior bikes to slow down and back off from the van, but their passengers kept still firing at the van and Rick and Zoe behind of their covers.

However, one of them had finally had enough of being the target of the heavy gunfire coming from their bitter enemies.

"Okay! THAT'S IT!" Zoe said determinedly...

...and started to fire with the minigun at the Saviors in the bikes, without taking the break between of the shots, not caring did the weapon get too hot from the rapid and endless firing nor caring anymore that where she was aiming!

Countless stray bullets hit to the ground or flew wherever they did!

But firing with the minigun like the maniac, Zoe managed to kill four saviors in two bikes backs with the minigun's brutal power, destroying and eventually blowing up their bikes and overwhelmingly and without giving the chance for counter-attack killing the drivers and passengers instantly.

Some of Zoe's stray bullets even flew towards the Savior crew in the vehicles...

...couple Saviors, who were standing and firing the van from one of the vehicles platform, took the hit to their heads, and one in sitting in another vehicle's passenger seats also took the hit through of the windscreen's window and into his head.

Two remaining Savior bikes, one of them with two passengers, went behind of the right side of the van's backside's wall... where the sidedoor was still open.

Zoe had forgotten to close it after he got hit from ther burnt body of one of the Saviors, which she had tossed out.

The Saviors had seen this happening and were now using it as their advantage... and the great attempt to flank their enemies.

Luckily, Rick had spotted at least one of them, before it disappeared to behind of the wall...

...to which Rick had reacted by hurriedly bowed down to seek some weapon to fire through of the already in the heavy gunfire shredded wall to kill the Saviors before they reaces to the open sidedoor.

Suddenly...

Rick managed to get down to pick a new weapon from the van's arsenal just in time when the van's backside's wall was once again under the fire, coming from the guns which sounded like the gunfire of the TEC-9 submachine guns... couple of them.

The shooter probably thought that either Rick or Zoe were standing in the van and was trying to kill one of them firing directly through of the shredded walls.

"KNOCK, KNOCK!" The Savior outside taunted as he kept firing.

However, Rick hurriedly picked and loaded from the armory Norinco Type 56, quickly loaded it and returned in fire.

Firing through of the wall at his enemies reminded him about that day when their mission to lead the gigantic walker herd away from Alexandria partially failed due to the wolf-attack against Alexandria... and about that moment when the survived wolves ambushed and attacked him when he had stopped with his RV on the road...

...and after gaining the upper hand against two of them, who had physically attacked him, and after killing them, Rick had spotted three of them trying to sneak up outside the RV, to which he had reacted by taking the similar weapon, of which he was carrying at the moment, and had opened fire on them, killing them all.

And firing rapidly at the Saviors in the another side of the wall, while slowly raising to stand straight up, Rick clearly heard the two cries of pain coming from the Saviors in outside of the van...

...which was soon followed by the sound of the bike falling over to the ground in the full pace, telling to Rick that the Saviors were out of the game.

However, once Rick stopped firing, another bike's Savior passemger, armed with the pair of Smith and Wesson 629 Classic handguns, one in each hand, showed up into the van's backside through of the side door and turned them right towards Rick with intent to kill him.

Quickly noticing this, Rick barely managed to pull himself to ground as the Savior was pressing down his handgun's triggers, firing two bullets out of them...

...which, however, missed Rick and flew over him, hitting instead to one of the van right on its tail following Savior vehicles Browning M2HB machine gun wielding Savior's head, killing him instantly.

And unwilling to give the Savior time to fire at him again, Rick tossed his assault rifle away and caught the Savior by surprise by charging at him and roughly tackling him against of the van's backside's wall, causing him to lose his handguns, and started to whack the Savior's faces.

Rick delivered four heavy punches against the Savior's faces, until the Savior, after recovering from the surprise, kicked with his knee to Rick's stomach wit hthe brutal force... kicking most of the air out of Rick.

The kick caused Rick to gasp and pant for the breath heavily, which took his attention away from the Savior.

However, Rick kept the grasp with his another hand from the Saviors hoodie, originally to pin the Savior against the wall, but now for having support as he felt himself a bit dizzy from the Savior's kick.

However, the Savior took this as an advantage and grabbed with his another hand from Rick's shirt and whacked with the powerful punch Rick to the faces.

One punch was strong enough to knock Rick to the ground... and due to his dizziness from the Savior's hard kick to his stomach and from the punch, Rick remained to lay on the floor with the support of his hands.

However, the Savior took this as another an advantage, and kicked again to Rick's stomach, causing him to roll over on his back in the floor.

Rick tried to get up on his feet, but the Savior kicked him to his chest to keep him pinned against the ground.

The Savior then kneeled down to Rick, grabbed from his jacket's collar and kept punching multiple times Rick's faces with his fist.

This reminded Rick about his brutal fist fight with the Governor back in the prison, when the Governor attacked there one last time with the demands for him and his people back then to surrebnder the prison for him, but had ended up to brutally beheading hostage Hershel after he refused to surrender the prison.

Rick had then attacked the Governor from behind and tackled him to the ground, briefly gaining the upper hand, but because Rick was back then - and still even now - poor in the physical compat and the Governor was far more experienced finghter and stronger, the Governor had gained the upper hand over him and overpowered Rick too quickly...

...brutally and continually beating his faces nearly to the verge of death... and yet nearly having strangled him to death, if it was not for Michonne's timely interference between of the fight by lethally wounding Governor with the straight stab through of him.

The Savior then dragged Rick from the floor and pinned him against the van's backside's left side wall, and kept punching him to the faces.

"PATHETIC! YOU CANNOT EVEN DEFEND YOURSELF, YOU FUCKING WEAKLING!" The Savior taunted, though annoyed of Rick's lack of resistance.

Meanwhile, Zoe kept firing at the vehicles with her minigun...

...until her during of the End of the World extremely sensitive evolved instincts told her to dodge something, which was coming right from behind of her.

Zoe managed to roll away from the minigun just in time when another Savior emerged in to the van through the opened side wall, and had at first aimed with his pair of Tri-Barreled Shotguns and pressed the triggers down!

The Savior recklessly without even thinking fired all his three shots at Zoe's direction, but missed her and badly damaged the minigun instead, making it useless against the Saviors vehicles right behind of them.

"FUCK!" The Savior cursed, and threw out of frustration his shotguns away and tried to reach to his handgun in the case of his belt.

Zoe was quite badly surprised that she had narrowly survived from the shots coming from the tri-barreled shotguns, which were targeted at back of her head and her back... but had hit to the minigun with the destructive consequences instead of her.

But after seeing the Savior reaching to her handgun, Zoe hurriedly snapped from the surprise and turned around to reach with her hand to something to throw or shoot at the Savior.

Until, Zoe suddenly spotted that one of the Saviors in their vehicles lifting up DefTech 37mm launcher and started to aim the van with it... and was even about to fire with it the grenade towards the van.

"JACKIE! HARD RIGHT! NOW!" Zoe screamed hurriedly.

Meanwhile, in the van's cabin...

Jackie was in the fierce fist-fight with the Savior in the van's driver's seat...

...after Jackie had managed to disarm the Savior from his knife by viciously twisting the Savior's wrist, which had caused the Savior to scream like the little-girl out of the pain and drop his knife...

...after which, however, angry for twisting his knife-holding wrist and ignoring the pain in his arm, the Savior had attacked Jackie with the doubled efforts and bare fists, aiming them to Jackie's faces.

However, Jackie had quickly gained the upper hand over the Savior and was mercilessly beating his faces with both of his own bare fists, while tryig at the same time to keep the Savior's fingers off from the steering wheel and his legs away from the breaks.

"YOU... (punch)!"

"FUCKING... (punch)!"

"SELFISH... (punch)!"

"TREACHEROUS...(punch)!"

"UNSPEAKABLE... (punch)!"

"FILTHY... (punch)!"

"UGLY... (punch)!"

"SADISTIC... (punch)!"

"LIFE-DESTROYING... (punch)!"

"CHILD-ABUSING... (punch)!"

"DICK-SUCKING... (punch)!"

"PATHETIC... (punch)!"

"CRY-BABY-LIKE...(punch)!"

"PUNK...(punch)!" Jackie cried to the Savior under of the pure rage while brutally beating his already bloody faces...

...until he suddenly crabbed to the pointed knife-like piece of class from the windscreen's destroyed window and in the rage Jackie stabbed with it to both of the Savior's eyes, blinding him permanently and releasing the blood to bleed from the eye-holes to his faces.

Feeling the sharp tip of the class being savagely pushed into his both eyes, the Savior screamed loudly in agony!

"Try to find your way to your fucking home NOW!" Jackie said and kicked the Savior out of the van's cab.

"JACKIE! HARD RIGHT! NOW!" Jackie heard Zoe screaming to him from the backside.

Jackie wasn't aware about what the Saviors in the vehicles right behind of them were about to do, but judging from Zoe's hurried and nearly panicking tone of her voice, they were up to no good...

...so, without the hesitation, Jackie grabbed again to the wheel and made the hard turn to the right.

Meanwhile, in the backside of the van...

Rick was still brutally beaten, as he took the hard punches to his face and to his stomach from the Savior, who mercilessly and endlessly punched him...

...until he suddenly stopped beating Rick further, but not because of feeling sorry for his actions or any compassion towards his victim. Far from it...

...and instead, he still kept Rick roughly pinned agains the van's backside's wall and started to lifted his hand up, towards the end of Rick's sock mask hanging over his masked head in attempt to take it off from him.

"If you believe that your "angry-dog" masks are gonna scare me off my pants, you've badly mistaken, you fucking weak asshole. Let's see what kind of ugly faces this fucking stupid mask hides behind of it. If stranger, Jencko might be pleased to meet you and have you in his ranks. And if one of those fucking pooches, then I'll..."

The Savior was suddenly interrupted and caught by surprise by the sudden turn to the left and then the hard turn to the right.

The sudden and hard turns forced the Savior to release his grip from Rick's jacked in order to maintain his balance...

...and so did the another Savior, who was trying to reach to his handgun to kill Zoe.

Jackie's sudden hard right turn also knocked off the road the one remaining and in the van's right side in the full pace driving bike and its Savior driver off the road.

The impact in the full speed caused the bike to toss the Savior off its back to the air, and made him to fly twirling in the air towards one of the wooden trunk of the lamppost in the road's ditch.

The Savior hit to the lamppost's wooden trunk with the motobike's full pace before being knocked off the road by the van, and the impact against the wooden trunk was enough to snap the Savior's back... killing him instantly.

And it was then, when one of the Saviors in the vehicles fired the with his DefTech 37mm launcher the grenade towards the van as it turned slightly to the left.

But thanks to the hard right turn, the grenade narrowly missed the van and hit instead to the large tree next to the road, and the grenade ended up to explode by the impact against the tree's tight trunk.

The explosion destroyed badly the tree's trunk from the road side...

...and the expolosion apparently was causing the tree to lean slowly but certainly with all its upper part's weight to the road's direction.

Not aware of this, the Saviors with DefTech 37mm launcher and Browning M2HB machine gun were about to fire to inside of the van to kill everybody onboard, including their own inside of the van's backside...

...until Zoe, having spotted this before she had spotted one of the Savior's dropped pair of Smith and Wesson 629 Classic handguns, used distraction, which had caused the Saviors onboard to fall into confusion and were now focusing to maintain their balances, as an her advantage and picked both Smith and Wesson 629 Classic handguns, aiming them to the Saviors in one of the vehicles and fired towards them.

Zoe managed to pin them down with the gunfire of hers.

And Zoe kept firing at them, not willing to give to the Saviors time to return to fire...

...until Zoe actually hit with two shots from the handguns to Browning M2HB machine gun wielding Savior's stomach from beneath of the weapon, when he jumped out from the cover in attempt to answer the fire, with the machine gun.

And after that...

...also DefTech 37mm launcher wielding Savior jumped up and aimed with the launcher at the van in order to blast the van out of the sky.

But, as the Savior was about to fire, he suddenly and unexpectedly got the hit to his head from Zoe's wielded guns and fell over ... but not before firing by his reflexes one grenade into the air, which was directly about to hit next to the van.

And while this happened, the explosion's damaged tree's trunk gave up to the upper part's heavy weight and the tree started to fall on the road.

Both the drivers in the Saviors cars pressed the gas to the bottom to get out of the falling tree's way.

However, as the tree landed with its full weight on the road...

...only one of the vehicles with the Savior driver and three crew members in the car's platform narrowly made it away of the falling three's way before being crushed by its trunk's heavy weight.

However, the second one didn't.

As it was about to drive out of the falling tree's way, It was ten seconds behind of the another car and the car, neither its survived driver and one passenger in the cabin, had not enough time to get away from the falling tree's way.

The falling tree landed over the cabin of the car, crushing the car completely with all of its weight and killing both the Saviors inside of the cabin by crushing them between of the cabin's floor and the car's roof and the tree's massive weight!

Caring nothing of one another destroyed vehicles of theirs, nor even their own dead, the remaining four Saviors in the remaining car kept chasing the van.

In the backside of the van, Rick had took an advantage from the confusion among of two Saviors onboard due to the hard right, and he had by his turn grabbed from the Savior's jacket and was now beating the Savior's faces...

...while Zoe was crawling towards the pair of knives, after she had ran out the ammo with Smith and Wesson 629 Classic handguns, using as well the confusion among two Saviors onboard as an advantage.

While one of two remaining bikes in the van's left side drove closer of the cabin to let his passenger to jump into the cab and attack Jackie once more in attempt to stop the van...

...while the Savior Rick was beating suddenly jumped up for the counter-attack and lunged at Rick with the brutal force, grabbing/wrapping his fingers into the squeezing grasp around of Rick's neck and pinned Rick against the van's wall.

Rick struggled to get the Savior's hands off his throat, as he started to squeeze the fingers around of it... in attempt to choke Rick to death.

Rick tried to pull his hands off his neck, he kicked the Savior to his legs many times over and Rick also grabbed from his faces, either pushing them backwards, pulling from his hair and even punching his faces... but the Savior seemed to be physically immune to the physical pain.

And while squeezing his fingers around of Rick's throat, while stubbornly ignoring the suffering from the physical pain Rick caused him while struggling against his grasp around his neck, the Savior spit many times over to Rick's faces, aiming his eyes, to to bother Rick's concentration to struggle back

"THAT'S ALL YOU GOT, YOU FUCKER, because it feels like I'm fighting one pathetic overgrown cry-baby!" The Savior mocked.

"Besides, You need far more better tricks than the hard right turn to beat me, fucking dick!" The Savior said as he brutally hardened the already hard grasp of his fingers around of Rick's throat.

"YO, YOU FUCKING GARGOYLE OF ANACONDA!" The Savior heard someone mocking him...

...that he loosened his grip from around of Rick's neck - allowing Rick to catch some air - and turned his head and attention to the direction from where the insulting voice had came from.

The Savior then saw Zoe, lying on her back on the van's backside's floor...

...and she was holding something in both of her hands... a big knife and single handgun, Smith & Wesson Model 460V, from the van's armory!

"YOU WANNA BETTER TRICKS? I'LL GIVE YOU BETTER TRICKS THEN!" Zoe said, before she tossed a big knife into the air and grabbed from its wide blade.

Zoe then lifted the knife in her hand above of her head, before she pulled it forwards and released her grip from the blade... tossing a big knife towards both the Savior, who was still struggling to keep his balance bear of the open side door of the van.

A big knife hit to the Saviors before he even realized that a big blade was twirling flying through the air and towards him... leaving him no time to react to it in any way before it was too late.

A big knife hit to the Savior and its in the air twirling wide blade sunk into his forehead, digging its way through of the flesh and skull into his brains, causing him to let out of his mouth from the quite chills causing scream out of pain.

The another remaining Savior, who still kept Rick pinned against the wall from his jacked with his one arm, witnessed his fellow Saviors death with such of brutal way, that the Savior went on complete shock!

The Savior was so shocked of what he had just witnessed, that he didn't notice that Zoe used this distraction as an advantage and whistled at Rick's direction, managing to get his attention.

"RICK! CATCH!" Zoe called and tossed Smith & Wesson Model 460V towards him.

Quickly realizing that what Zoe tossed towards him, Rick extended his right arm towards the gun and grabbed it successfully from the air.

Rick then pulled his jacket off from the Savior's grasp with his another hand, which caught the Savior's attention - as well as Zoe calling for Rick's name - and the Savior turned back to Rick...

...only to get from the fist in middle of his faces,

"NEVER MESS WITH THE BABIES, ASSHOLE!" Rick said as he pulled his into the fist squeezed hand into the fist and then Rick had drawn his fist with all his strength forwards, punching the Savior hard to his faces, knocking some blood and a one teeth out from the Savior's mouth.

Rick then lifted Smith & Wesson Model 460V in his hand up and aimed with it at the Savior as an attempt to shoot his brains out, now when he was distracted by Rick's strike to his face.

It was then when one Savior bike with one remaining passenger had reached in next to the cabin... and next to the driver's seat where Jackie was still sitting.

And when Jackie saw the bike appearing to the next to him through of the doorway, he realized that the bike's passenger on the bike was about to leap in the cabin and the driver's seat to engage him into a new fist-struggle.

"UGH! Not again!" Jackie complained in frustration, knowing that he was once again going to be engaged to the fist-fight.

And he was right.

The Savior jumped off from the back of the bike inside of the cabin and started immediately struggle with the Savior.

However, the strayed grenade, which one of the now-dead Saviors fired into the air from the back of the now-destroyed vehicles with his DefTech 37mm launcher before being killed by Zoe, suddenly landed suddenly to the road in middle of the remaining Savior bikes and the Savior-drivers just when the Savior passenger managed to jump inside of the van's cabin...

...with the explosing consequences, which killed both the drivers and destroyed their bikes.

However, the explosion also caused the shockwave, which - along with the Savior passenger's leap over Jackie causing Jackie to make reckless hard right turn - pushed the van to the right and even lifting its left side into the air, making the van to tilt to the right.

As Rick's fist hit in the middle of the Savior's face and made him to fall backwards, while struggling to keep her balance... until the van was caught by the explosion's shockwave and they both fell towards the opened side door.

The body of the Savior Zoe had just killed fell freely out of the van and through of the doorway to the road.

And along with the Savior, some guns that had ran out the ammo, the empty caps of the weapons and some boxes, either empty or still filled with the firearms and other weapons, fell through of the side doorway out from the backside of the van.

However, Rick's and Zoe's full focus focused now in attempt to stay onboard.

Both Rick and the Savior tried to grab to something to hang onto prevent themselves from falling out through of the side doorway.

Outside of the van, the remaining Saviors in the remaining vehicle, especially the one with Browning M2HB machine gun and two others armed with Remington 870 Police Magnum and Heckler & Koch HK94A3, took this moment as an advantage and started to fire with all their weapons.

Even the vehicle driving Savior, who had the red sweater, brown hair and he had glasses, opened the fire at the van with his Ingram MAC-11 while driving the car.

All the Saviors aimed their combined fire at the van's bottom's left side's tires and axles.

And with the support of Browning M2HB machine gun, the Saviors managed to shred with their heavy gunfire both tires from the van's left side and the van's axles also suffered such of damage that so much for those axles in the van's left side... they were as badly damaged along with the left tires.

And when the van's left side landed back on its extremely badly shredded tires to the road, from the Saviors' heavy gunfire severely damaged axles immediately gave up beneath of all of that weight from the overloaded number of cargo in the backside of the van and broke off, causing the tires to be severed from the vehicle and also causing the van's bottom's left side's corner fell on the road...

...and because the van was still in the full pace, the bottom's left angle rubbed against the tarmac and sent the sparks to fly to everywhere.

And with both the shredded tires and the axles gone, Jackie in the cabin was no longer able to keep the van under control.

"SHIT! WE LOST BOTH THE TIRES FROM THE LEFT SIDE AND THE AXLES! I CAN'T DRIVE THE VAN!" Jackie cried in shock, as he realized that what the Saviors had done to their van.

The Savior upon him took this knowledge and the van's situation as an advantage.

"THEN THIS IS YOUR STOP, FUCKER!" Savior mocked and, despite Jackie's attempts to keep his fingers away from the steering wheel, which ended up for Jackie to have a punch from the Savior in middle of his faces, the Savior grabbed the steering wheel with his both hands and turned it to the right.

And as an consequences from the hard right turn in the full pace, without the left tires, and yet with its bottom's left angle still rubbing against the the tarmac...

...the van turned, unexpectedly for those in the van's backside, sharply to the right.

And because of the van's hard right turn, which turned the van into horizontal position in the road...

...because of the van's full pace, which was puching the van to the left with force...

...and because of the van's bottom's left corner, which was rubbing against the ground, The bottom's left angle was is in contact with the asphalt, the van began to tilt dangerously to the left!

"BRACE YOURSELF! THIS IS GOING TO BE ROUGH ROLLING RIDE!" Jackie warned the others in the backside of the van, as he kept fighting with the one Savior in the cabin.

And so indeed happened.

The van tilted to the left so steeply at high speed, causing most of the remaining cargo to slid against the van's backside's left wall, that the van eventually fell over to the road.

The van's high speed pushed the van still forward even though it had fell over on the road, causing the van to roll violently against the ground.

In the backside of the van, both Rick and Zoe were hammered by the weapon boxes and loosen weapons while both of them tried desperately hold on from something to prevent themselves to fall out from the open sidedoors, from the doorway in the back and from the massive hole in the "former" ceiling.

The Savior managed just barely to keep himself onboard of violently rolling van, but he was even more hammered by the loosen cargo than what Rick and Zoe were.

And in the cabin, despite the van's violent rolling in the high speed with no sign of slowing down, Jackie and the Savior kept punching each others faces.

Even in the backside, despite the van's violent rolling and along with it rolling cargo, the Savior unexpectedly to Rick lunged on Rick from behind...

...and, having caught Rick out of surprise and off guard at the same time, the Savior quickly gained upper hand over Rick as he started to punch Rick's faces with his fists while they both got hammered by the loose cargo rolling along the van.

"STOP IT, YOU FUCKING FOOL! YOU'LL GOT BOTH OF US KILLED!" Rick said to the Savior, though it was clear that his warnings fell to the deaf ears.

However, even though he was caught out of surprise and off guard by the Savior, it didn't mean that he was completely outmatched - even though he himself wasn't good in the close compat - as Rick started to fight back by punching the Savior's faces with his own fists.

Rick and the Savior kept fighting and punching each other, even though they both rolled along the van's backside's walls along with the cargo as the van itself kept rolling violently.

Rick and the Savior delivered seveall punches at each others and the tides between of them changed alternately, until Rick was slowly but certainly gaining the upper hand over the Savior, thanks for the loosely along with the van rolling cargo, which hammered the Saviors faces, bothering his concentration...

...until the Savior crew so frustrated, that he eventually had enough of fist-fight and pulled out the pair of knives to finish off Rick for good.

"WOW!" Rick gasped as he realized that what the Savior was about to do.

"DIE, YOU FUCKING RAGDOLL!" The Savior barked as prepared to finish off Rick!

However, before he managed to stab rick with the knives...

"OH, NO, YOU DON'T, YOU ANIMAL!" Zoe screamed and lunged at the Savior, locking her arms around of the Savior's neck and pulling him off Rick, squeezing her arms around of the Savior's neck in the strangling grasp.

For the woman, Zoe was physically strong... thanks for her experiences during of all of this since beginning of the End of the World.

"OFF ME, YOU BITCH!" The Savior angrily barked.

"IF YOU THINK THAT WILL HAPPEN, MALTIDO BASTARDO, THEN YOUR BRAINS ARE SMALLER THAN EVEN PEAS!" Zoe barked back and kept strangling the Savior, who started to swing his knves recklessly from the side to the another and even to backside of...

...forcing Zoe to double her efforts to strangle the Savior to death before she gets the fatal stabbing wound to her head and faces...

...though it prevented Rick from delivering his counter-attack against the Savior with the risk of getting sliced or stabbed fatally by the Savior's reckless swinging of his knives.

While all onboard of the van were struggling with each other, the van's rolling speed was starting slowly to slow down, but it was also turning its direction to the left side of the road... and was rolling straight towards of another lamppost standing next to the road.

The van's backside hit to the post, snapping its stalk off the ground, and causing the van to twirl around from the impact...

...and roughly fly off the road to the ditch, which revealed to be the small hillside near of another bridge dead ahead, and the van flew through the air to the border of small woods standing in the next of the feet of the hillside.

And, the van still kept both rolling and twirling during of its flight through the air and ovcer the ditch's hillside.

"I'VE NEVER LIKED FLYING! I HATE FLYING! I THINK I'M GONNA FEEL SICK!" Jackie shouted from the cabin, openly confessing his dislike towards flying.

And when the van was about to land, the landing was far from the gentle one.

The van, with its bottom ahead, crashed against the tree's and snapped them in half on its way.

And when the van landed to the ground, it rolled a little bit more forward, snapping the trees off the ground on its way...

...before its high pace slowed down so much that the van finally stopped from rolling and remained to lay on its left side, that its bottom side was in the direction of the road.

And as the van stopped rolling and remained ro lay on its left side in the forest, the Savior's vehicle stopped on the road.

The Savior with Browning M2HB machine gun at the van and waited if there was any kind of resistance coming from the direction of the wrecked van, as well as the rest of the Saviors turned their weapons towards the van's direction and remained to wait for the possible resistance.

But, right after they had stopped their vehicle and turned their weapons at the wrecked van's direction, they all heard three loud gunshots, and saw three flashes coming out from inside of the van's open doorways, which sounded like the shots of Tri-Barreled Shotgun, that came from from the direction of the wrecked van.

Startled, the Saviors immediately placed their fingers on their weapons triggers and kept aiming with them at the van's direction... dead quietly and no one of them saying a word while waiting through of ten awkwardly silent minutes.

However, after three-four minutes over ten minutes, nothing else didn't happen. There wasn't any sign of possible resistance from those onboard of the van during of the chase, and there was not even a single gunshot fired at their direction...

...telling to the Saviors in the vehicle that the coast was clear.

"You know what, boys? I think that we got them!" The Savior in the vehicle's cabin said to three remaining Saviors in the platform of their vehicle.

"We got those motherfuckers butt-kicked out of our way and the van is finally ours, or at least its cargo is ours!" The Savior triumphantly declared.

All four Saviors triumphantly celebrated their victory over Rick, Zoe and Jackie in the van, despite their heavy casualties.

"Alright, alright, enough of foolishness!" The Savior driver said, as he exited from the cabin with couple Smith & Wesson M&P handguns in both of his hands.

"Alright, boys. Let's check the situation and take everything what's left from that crash." The Savior said.

The Saviors jumped one by one off their vehicles's platform, one of them armed with Norinco Type 56 assault rifle, another one armed with Remington 750 semiatomatic rifle and the last one with Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun... after they had apparently ran out of ammo with their last weapons as they fired with them to the van's left tires and axle.

They still had a plenty of ammunition magazines for their last respective weapons, but it was either that they had no time to reload their weapons due to the walkers attracted to the scene by the loud and endless gunfire... or... they were too lazy to reload their weapons again.

It seemed to be the Saviors motto; No matter whether the ammo is enough, it does matter that there are enough weapons and targets to shoot with them.

Meaning, that the Saviors favored more the weapons rather than ammo... that if one gun ran out of ammo in their hand, they always abandoned it and picked a new loaded one and kept firing.

Their apparent ruthlessness towards the other survirors and their arrogance for their own superiority has made them nearly completely blind to the reality and to the vital meaning for the ammo.

The four Saviors climbed down the hillside and entered to the forest... slowly and their weapons aimed to the direction of the wrecked van.

Nothing did not happened... not any sound or even gunshot came from inside of the wreckage.

There was no any sigh of anyone, both the trio of "fugitives" and couple of their own men, who were onboard before the van crashed to the lamppost on the road and flew into the forest.

It was just a gloomy and awkward silence that lied upon the area.

The Saviors started to get nervous and uneasy, uncertain of what exactly was waiting for them in the wreckage.

Probably not-quite-unexpected resistance in the form of still living people... or in the form of already dead and resurrected undead bodies.

But even the Saviors were not so dim-witted pea-brains that they would erroneously underestimate the walkers, despite their superior firepower and the strength in numbers in the outside.

The Saviors already knew that the walkers were always attracted by the loud sounds, gunshots for example, of which they'll start to follow even miles away, depenting on the reach of the loud gunshot.

And because they were undead, it was extremely hard to kill them but the only ONE way, and that shooting to their bodies will be nothing more than a mere waste of ammo, but as earlier said, to the Saviors the number of ammo seemed to be less important than the number of weapons.

The Saviors also knew that the walkers may be slow, but they can be unexpectedly quick when they get too close.

And the dark place, the darkness, corners and ambush were the walkers greatest advantages against even the careful survivors.

And the Saviors knew very well that in the herds, especially in the big ones, the walkers were extremely difficult to deal off, even with the teamwork and combinet firepower of the large groups of humans. And the herds of undead were ten times, or even more, deadlier than guns... especially, if the source of the walkers feral interest was both alone and surrounded.

And yet, the Saviors were also aware the fact that always when the people dies, depending on the cause of death in addition to the fatal bite, they always comes back as one of the walkers.

And that's why the Saviors were from here doubly alerted.

"Randall?" The Savior driver called the slender Savior called Randall, who had purple mohawk and who wore purple hoodie and purple-colored sweatpants, and he was the one who carried Remington 750 semiatomatic rifle in his hands.

"Check the driver's seat. If there's anyone alive and wounded, the bulled to the skull without hesitation." The Savior said to Randall, before he turned to the rest.

"Greg and Michael?" The Savior called the rest of two Saviors...

... one of which was quite obese and had dressed into the sleeveless dirty shirt and garbageman's cap, possibly reffering that he was the garbageman before the End of the World. This Savior, probably Greg by the name, carried Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun in his arms.

...and another one was rather slender man, who used torn shorts and black coat over his shirtless upper body and he had disrty and messy blond hair. This Savior, whose name was most likely Michael, carried in his arms Norinco Type 56 assault rifle.

"You two go to check the backside of the van. I'll wait here in the watch. Report to me immediately if you find anything about those three motherfuckers onboard in the van before the crash." the Savior ordered.

"Were on it, Big Ben." Greg said with the deep and throaty voice to the Savior, whose name was Ben with the nickname "Big Ben.

And with that, all four remaining Saviors slowly and alerted surrounded the wrecked van, while still aiming it with their guns in case of possible resistance from the inside...

...before they proceeded in their task by approaching the wreckage in order to look inside of the van's cabin's driver's seat and to the backside to see that was there anyone still alive from the crash...

...so that they can **kill them** and take the wreckage remaining cargo.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Twelfth** **cliffhanger...**

 **\- Rick, Zoe and Jackie's van** **got into a car accident, which threw the van off the road to the ditch... and the remaining Saviors, Big Ben, Randall, Greg and Michael are approaching with the guns at** **the wreckage with no any sign of survivors from the crash.**

 **What happened to Rick, Zoe and Jackie in the van, after it got into the car accident and w** **hat will be waiting for the remaining Saviors in the scene of the accident?** **We'll find it out in the next chapter.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya in the next time.**


	13. Chapter 13: Billy's New Crew

**CHAPTER 13: BILLY'S NEW CREW**

Michonne woke up soon as the another full bucket of cold water was yet again suddenly and unexpectedly threw at her faces, snapping her out from her second-unconsciousness.

And feeling the cold water against her still bare body's skin, Michonne jumped like the rocket on her knees from the ground, where she was lying unconscious a moment ago.

And, as the last time when someone threw the water at her faces so unexpectedly, Michonne started yet again to splutter the water out of her mouth and her respiratory tract, during of which Michonne shook her head to shake off the most of the water and wiped the rest of the waters off her faces with her hands.

Michonne's vision was still a bit blurry after waking from the second-unconsciousness and her consciousness was still at the border of unconsciousness even after having the second throw of bucket of cold water to wake her from her second-unconsciousness.

She also felt a bit dizzy, which caused to her for temporarily lasting nauseous feeling... even causing her to have a urge to vomit out her lunch - or more likely the remains of her last supper back in that house with Rick before the attack of these people, though she felt right now her stomach empty-, but fortunately to her, it was only one time and temporary.

However, the cold water prevented her to lose her consciousness again.

Michonne slowly crawled on her knees while stroking her still dizzy head with her hand... and attempted to recall that what had happened to her before she had fell under second-unconsciousness... or more likely, was knocked out cold.

Michonne remembered that she was locked in the windowless and pitch-black holding cell-like room, where the only source of light was the candle's light standing next to her in the middle of that room.

Michonne remembered that she was almost completely stripped from her clothes during of her first-unconsciousness, as she still felt the cold air embracing her bare back's skin, because of the cold water running against her bare back, and making her to feel cold yet again.

Michonne remembered that she was chained from the neck collar to the pitch-black room's floor, like some kind of dog, to prevent her from escaping.

Michonne remembered that she had been unexpectedly pointed with the bright spotlights in front of her faces, which had greatly bothered her eyes and had temporarily blinded her, by someone in the same room along with her.

Michonne remembered someone saying the name Buster...

...and yet the mention of someone called Alpha among of these people, who kept her in captivity...

...before she had fallen under of the unconsciousness yet again, after some one of those three people, who had either entered to the room where she was kept or they were there under the cover of the darkness already, hit her on the face with a long stick, knocking her out cold.

And as a prove of this, Michonne felt the sore inclined line across her left cheek, apparently, as an mark from the strike.

And after that, the last image Michonne remembered to having seen through of slowly blurring vision and from the hard strike to the face slowly darkening mind, was from somewhere opening door that released the light into the dark room...

...and the last things she heard, where the heavy steps under the boots entering to the room and approaching her and someone of these a new arrivals, probably the one who was called with the name Buster, saying something what felt echoing in her ears after the strike she received on her face.

Michonne had got it clear from in her ears deeply echoing and humming words that these people were about to bring her to someone called Alpha...

...before the world in her eyes turned into black as she had completely fallen under unconsciousness.

And after she was unpleasantly awaken from her unconsciousness...

This time, after she partially recovered from both of her unconsciousness and a sudden throw of bucket of water on her faces, though a bit dizzy, Michonne lifted her on her shoulders hanging head up, slowly and carefully straightening her a slightly sore neck, to see that where she was locked this time.

She found out that she was this time in a some kind of large or quite spacious hall-like space or something, which was illuminated by numerous lights... or at least the area in middle of which she was on her knees at the very moment, was was illuminated by numerous lights.

In fact, there was the bright spotlights everywhere, and the light beams of each one of them were directly aimed at her spot, causing the bright lights to blind her and preventing her from seeing anything else except the lights.

During of this, Michonne also heard the loud cheering and shouting, which sounded like the massive angry mob, that was furiously shouting and despising someone with the various swearwords and encouraging the people, that were guarding the target of such of hatred and scorn, to end the captive's life with the various opinions of slow and painful to death leading ways.

The angry and despising shouts came from a quite near, telling to Michonne that the angry mob was quite near.

And it did not took long from her to realize that to whom the angry mob nearby was shouting... as from somewhere flew the rotten egg and tomato at Michonne's faces with the couple of big splash, covering Michonne's faces partially with the rotten albumen and tomato flesh.

And there was numerous ill-chosen words targeted at her, such like...

 _Fucking cunt!_

 _Accursed whore!_

 _Black bitch!_

...as welll as many opinions of the various ways that leads to the certain death, such like...

 _Blast her brains out with the shotgun!_

 _Cut her throat open! Drain all blood outta her!_

 _Hang her in the fucking gallows!_

 _Feed that fucking bitch as one piece to our nastiest man-eating dogs!_

 _No! Cut her into pieces with the cleavers and feed her fucking pieces to the dogs!_

 _Skin her entire fucking black skin off her!_

 _Burn her fucking faces!_

 _Beat her to the death!_

 _Hang her to hanging from a rope above of the pit filled with those dead abominations... and lower her slowly down among of them!_

 _Gut that fucking Savior bitch!_

Hearing some one in that angry mob mentioning "Savior", revealed to Michonne that the people in the angry mob were the same ones like those people she and Rick fought back in that house, as she remembered Billy treating both her and Rick like they were into their territory trespassing Saviors.

And Michonne was able to hear the same disgust, deep and burning hatred and scorn towards the Saviors in their voices as well as she had heard them in Billy's tone.

And even though being despised and thrown with the rotten eggs and tomatoes, after seeing her own people suffering in the hands of the Saviors - the sufferings of the man she loved - and the sufferings of Hilltop Colony under of the Saviors tyrannical rule...

...Michonne didn't blame these people for openly showing their hatred and scorn towards the Saviors, which was probably due of something that had the traumatic effects to these people and not wanting them to repeat themselves ever again...

...even though their targeted that against the wrong person, who has been herself under of the Saviors tyrannical, merciless and ruthless rule.

However, resisting against her eyes greatly bothering spotlights bright light beams aimed at her and at her thrown rotten tomatoes and eggs, Michonne pulled her right leg from beneath of her and was just about to jump up to get to stand...

...until suddenly, something unexpectedly pulled her arms forcefully to both of her sides, seizing her arms, before starting pull her arms upwards forcefully.

It was then when Michonne felt something being wrapped around of her wrists, which tightened painfully around of her wrists after being unexpectedly and forcefully pulled towards both of her sides, which was nearly like she was about to be torn in half, before her arms were forcefully pulled upwards, that it caused Michonne to gasp and let out the cry out of the pain she felt in her wrists.

Michonne tried her best to resist this by pulling her arms back, but she soon noticed that two overwhelming groups than just two men were pulling from the ends of both the chains and that she was not match for them.

Michonne looked to both of her sides and saw that she was placed between of two wooden poles, at the ends of both of them was a hole to where the extra chain was pulled, and Michonne's arms with them.

And the more chains were pulled up, they lifted Michonne off her knees and lifted her to stand upright...

...but pulling from the chains didn't stop.

Instead, these people still kept pulling the chains upwards, beyond of that lever to which Michonne's hands reached...

...that they eventually lifted her completely off the ground.

Despite being lifted off the ground, Michonne still kept struggling against her chains, though in vain.

And these two groups kept pulling her up...

...until it suddenly stopped, but the men still kept pulling Michonne up from the chains.

And by doing this, Michonne felt that something was pulling her at the same time downwards, or at least holding her at still in the air.

By looking down at her bare feet, Michonne spotted that these people had chained her legs from her ankles to the ground, and because the chains between of the bonds around of her ankles and the ground were much shorter than the bonds around of her wrists, Michonne remained to hang in the air more than half a meter from the ground.

And Michonne felt from the start uncomfortable to hang in the air like this, being pulled upwards from the chains in her wrists while to the ground attached chains in her ankles halt her in still... like the bug being torn apart by the child.

Michonne panted rapidly as she felt the chains painfully rubbing the skin of her wrists and ankles.

And between of panting and moaning out of pain in her wrists and ankles, Michonne started to wonder that why she had been lifted off the ground and left to hang like this like the bug in the webs of spider in the front of the angry mob and surrounded by the bright spotlights.

Not at least as an target for the angry mob, because in the air and towards her wasn't flying any rotten tomatoe nor egg... but there was still sone angry shouts coming from the angry mob.

And probably not as an human trophy, because if so, these people would already have had her decapitated and hung her head to the tip of the spear.

That reminded Michonne about the problematic situation between of her group and from the heart villainous Woodbury, when the Governor had sent Daryl's brother Merle to hunt her down and bring her head to the Governor as one of his trophies.

And it was then, when from aside walked in front of her at least over nine or ten people.

Two of them were a tallest and more muscular of all of them...

...Third one of them was more obese than the others...

...Fourth and fifth ones was the shortest, more slender than anyone else of these people and both of them seemed to possess the long hair, and one of them had been tied them behind of the figure's head into two ponytails, making it clear that at least one of them was a woman...

...as well as sixth slender and long-haired one standing behind of the short lady. And this woman was nearly as tall as the muscular man in next to her...

...and remaining of three of them seemed to be equal sized.

They all stepped between of her and two towards her faces aimed spotlights beams, covering her with their own shadows, revealing their forms to Michonne.

The first one appeared to be the same one who Michonne had saw back in that dark room, before she lost her consciousness.

He was indeed a quite tall, slender, muscular and firm-looking man, who had bald head, gray beard stubble and light gray skin. His faces were quite scarred and one of the scars ran across his faces and his left eye. The man wore over it eye patch, that was sewn into his skin around of his eye and yet over the eye patch a black street sunglasses. Because the scars seemed to be from the dogs claws no doubt, Michonne guessed that he had either lost his eye completely and possessed now empty eye-hole or then his eye had received the permanent damage from the claw that it has remained blind. This man also wore, as Michonne had partially saw back in the dark room, the military painted trousers and military boots, but he didn't wear any shirt and apparently walked mostly as topless... except that he wore over himself a black trench coat. The man had the pair of angry doberman tattoos, one of which was in his left cheek and another in his chest. Michonne also saw due to the man standing against the light the shadowy shapes of the Desert Eagle Mark XIX handguns hanging in their sheaths in the man's belt as well as four Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser" shotguns hanging from his back and Heckler & Koch G3A3 hanging in his left side.

This man was, no doubt, the one called Buster by name.

Another large man in next of buster was as slender and muscular man like the another one next to him. His had a completely bald head and he was dark-skinned. He used the classes and he wore over himself military medic uniform with the Red Cross symbols, over which he wore also the chest guard and medical officer's tattered white jacket. The man also wore the white bandana around of his forehead, in which was also the same Red Cross symbol. He also seemed to carry three-four objects with him... his medical bag hanging over his shoulder, his a Walther P99 pistol in its sheath hanging in his chest, Colt M4A1 rifle in his back... and he also carried with him the chain saw.

Obese and heavy-built one, which Michonne recognized immediately to be one of those people who had attacked her and Rick back in that house, stood next of the tall man, unceremoniously dressed into gray-green loose pants help up with the chain belt around on his waist, tattered sleeveless blue shirt with the image of the blood-red angry dog and the red bandana around of his forehead, beneath of his black hair and the weapon of choice was the large baseball bat in his hands.

There was also another one from the equally sized men who Michonne believed to recognize from the battle in the forest, the french-looking guy, who had a small straight french mustache but large blonde hair like the mane of the lion, and who had the tattoo of angry-looking golden retriever's head tattooed on his face. The man had dressed completely into black sleeveless shirt and black military trousers. Only different colored part of his dress was green military waistcoat.

Another one equal-sized member of the group was dark-skinned - probably from either Africa or India - and slender man with the black hair and a small mustaches. He was walking mostly topless and he wore only sand-colored and tattered cargo pants and used the gray bandana around of his head. He also wore a plenty of scars, which were definitely from the dogs claws and yet he was carrying around of his neck a three of circular rope, in which he was carrying the pieces of skin, in each of which has been carved or marked with the hot iron the mark of the baseball bat with the barbed wire... Negan's symbol... and yet he had carved with the knife into his left arm something which resembled counting the days. This man was finally of all carrying pair of Mossberg 590 Compact Cruiser in his back and the big knife and black desert eagle pistol in the belt around of his waist. He also carried two grenade belts across of his chest and the bag hanging over his shoulder, which was filled with the dynamite.

The woman, who seemed to be a teenager, had a bit dark toned tan skin, brown eyes, purple brows and completely purple long hair, which she had tied behind of her head as two long ponytails. She also had the dark peacock blue and from the sleeves tattered, thus sleeveless, hoodie and dark red street trousers. This teenager had not dog tattoo on her faces, but she carried with her Sideshow Baroness Chest & Shoulder Armor over her hoodie, in the chest of which had been painted the faces of angry kuvasz dog. The girl also carried the long katana in its sheath which she carried in her back, just like Michonne used to before she lost her weapon back in the battle with these people. The girl also had dual thigh holsters, in which she carried two Brügger & Thomet MP-9 machine pistols.

Another person, who was revealed herself to be the woman and seven years older than the teenager, was slender and she had black shoulder length hair, brown eyes and full lips... and yet she had the scar in her left cheek. This woman did not seem to be as aggressive-looking like the other two woman in next to her... bust she still had the aggressive-looking expression in her faces. She had dressed into a quite dirty mechanic's blue bib & brace overalls, one of which suspenders was missing and the left side of her overalls were hanging on her left one. Under of them she wore women white and sleeveless top shirt. This woman also used the blue cap over her head. This woman carried with her own sheaths dual Glock 19 pistols, as well as double barreled shotgun in her back. She also carried dual brass-knuckles in her hands, in which has been wrote "Crush!" and "Punish!" The woman also seemed to carry the melee weapon in her right hand, which was revealed to be a big wrench, that was covered with the blood.

Tall and slender early to mid 30s woman behind of these two had painted her own hair into blue and tied them into one long ponytail behind of her head. Yet she wore the white T-shirt and over it a black jacket and blue jeans. The woman also had the red bandana wrapped around of her forehead. She had also have a tattoo of an angry Dalmatian who covered half of her face. She was carrying two weapon belts across her chest, in both of which she was carrying two Smith & Wesson M&P pistols in their sheaths as her primary weapons. Yet she had tied to the same belts in backside of her a two machete sheaths behind of her left shoulder and one sheath for Remington 870 Police Magnum behind of her right shoulder. The woman carried also another weapon, the sniper rifle Mossberg MVP LR, which was hanging over her shoulder. Ironically, around of each the woman's machetes handles was wrapped the skin of dalmatian dog, and the same thing was in the handles of pair of large knives in their sheaths which were hanging in the belt around of her waist. And like the girl with her Brügger & Thomet MP-9 machine pistols in her dual thigh holsters, this woman carried as her extra weapons the pair of Heckler & Koch MP5K, which she kept in a dual shoulder rig.

There was also standing with them about seventeen years old young man, who was wearing the blue hoodie and the gray-white pants and he was also wearing the hood over his head and the olive-green hat upon his head. One look at this boy's faces under of his hoodie revealed to Michonne that, like with one of the Saviors called Dwight who had captured her, Glenn, Rosita and Daryl out in the woods, the left side of this boy's faces had been burned so badly, that the solidified molten and wavy skin and the flesh has been melted over his left eye covering it completely, his left ear has been melted against her skull and he was missing a hair from the left side of his head. The burns had also tore his left cheek open that the left lines of teeth were partially in seen, which horrified Michonne. This boy was also carrying dual of two type of revolver handguns, two Taurus Raging Bull model 444 in the sheaths hanging in his belt around of his waist and the pair of Smith & Wesson Model 460V revolvers hanging in the belt running over his left shoulder and across his chest. The boy was also carrying the binoculars, which were hanging from his neck. The boy also carried Mossberg Model 464 rifle in his back and the fire-axe in his hands.

And with this young man was also standing about late nine and early to ten years old blond boy, who had dressed with the "tough guy" style, having changed his blond hair into mohawk. The young man had dressed into tattered shorts and walked topless, having a tattoo of the American flag into his chest. This young boy had in his face at the tattoo of the angry faces of chihuahua, over which he wore the black sun-glasses. The boy seemed to held the knife and a single Smith & Wesson Model 686 Snub as his weapons, but he was also carrying the bag full of grenades and the bottles with the gas.

And the last one, a late-teenager who had dressed into the very familiar sleeveless green military shirt, black pants and army's boots. His black hood was removed from over his head and he still had his a blood-red bandana wrapped around of his head and under of his long black hair.

Michonne recognized this one immediately.

"Billy!" Michonne growled angrily under of her breath the name of the same guy who had launched the attack on her and Rick...

...and struggled against her bounds to get her hands around of that boy's neck to strangle him to death, only to be halted by into thight pulled chains around of her ankles and wrists.

"Greetings, Bitchy." Billy greeted Michonne with the mocking tone and grin.

"Did you slept well? If the answer is "yes", I and _soooooooo_ disappointed to hear that. And if the answer if "no", I'm glad to hear it." Billy said mockingly to in the chains hanging Michonne.

Michonne only responded to this by gritting her teeth and staring at Billy with the angry glare... and Michonne even let out the growling-like snort from between of her teeth.

However, caring nothing about Michonne's angry glare targeted at him...

...Billy's eyes suddenly shot wide as well as his smug grin disappeared from his lips.

Billy then immediately closed his eyes and lifted/slapped his right hand against his right temple and rubbed his forehead above of his right eye with his fingers.

"Oh! By the flee-filled pooches! Where are my manners!" Billy berated himself, before he stopped rubbing his forehead with his fingers.

"My apologies for us being so ill-mannered, but in fact that we are not usually visited by the strangers ... and, in the name of truth, we do not even miss strangers... especially when the strangers are the captured Saviors, who have been found and captured from inside of the borders of our lands!" Billy said darkly.

"But anyway... NOT SO WARM WELCOME TO OUR HUMBLE AND HOSPITABLE... _except to the Saviors_... HOME AND STRONGHOLD... THE DOG HOUSE!" Billy sarcastically and mockingly dramatically welcomed Michonne.

And when he mentioned "not so warm" welcome along with "humble hospitality meant for not Saviors", he also meant not so warm welcome and humble hospitality meant for not Saviors.

The angry mob behind of him and his companions burst out another angry roar at Michonne.

 _Make her eat the dog-shit!_

 _Feed that fucking bitch to the dogs!_

 _Put her fucking head to hang on the tip of the spear!_

However, Michonne wasn't even the slightest bit moved by this, especially as she knew the reason... but not yet the main reason... of these people attitude towards the Saviors.

"I can see clearly that what do you mean." Michonne said sarcastically back.

"You may have large number of men and weapons and call yourself as a Street dogs because of your dog tattoos on your fucking faces, very impressive, but if you call this place, whatever this is into which I've been chained and brought before you and your people like into some kind of trial after the End of the World, a moving theater trailer no doubt, as The Dog House, Billy... I am soo'oo disappointed. I was expecting something even more fierce like back in the house. But, since I and Rick killed all of your dogs, I will not be surprised if you live around of a moving theater trailer watching how you urge your dogs, if you even have any dogs left, to go against each other in the box arena via of your encouragement or your dogs howling the dog-version of opera at nights." Michonne said with the sarcastic tone.

...which Billy noticed all too well, that he mockingly placed his left arm over his heart like Michonne's comment had left him heartbroken.

"How sarcastic... and yet soooooo our fierce dogs feelings offending from you, you black missy bitchy." Billy mocked...

...until he eventually cleared his throat to change a bit the next subject.

"And speaking of dogs, black bitch, we do not call ourselves as a Street dogs because of our Angry Dog tattoos. Well, maybe a bit because of that too, but we call ourselves as Street dogs mostly via of... _these little puppies_..." Billy said, as he spread his hands to the sides of his head and clicked his fingers a couple of times.

That Buster-guy gave to Michonne the devilish grin before the pale-gray-skinned muscular man made a one single whistle in the air...

...which was soon followed by three-four large doberman dogs, angry and fierce doberman dogs, to suddenly appear from behind of Buster and pass his friends while they charged towards Michonne, angrily - yet hungrily - barking at her and showing her their teeth...

...much to Michonne's horrible surprise and shock, especially now when she was chained to the floor and yet pulled to hang in the air from her chains around of her wrists, thus making her as if the living fleshy Piñata or in the air hanging fleshy chew toy for those dobermans, with the inability to defend herself against the dogs.

Michonne tried now even more struggle against the chains holding her in still, as the dogs charged at her.

However, there were the chains in their collars...

...so that when the dogs were close enough of Michonne, Buster pulled the chains backwards, preventing the dogs from completely reaching to Michonne.

However, the dogs were only forty centimeters away from her, snapping their jaws at Michonne and barking at her angrily.

And with that, each member of Billy's group behind of him let out between of their lips a single whistle...

...which was soon followed by that from behind of each member of Billy's group appeared the large and angry-looking dog or two, that all charged from behind of their masters towards Michonne, barking and snarling angrily at Michonne.

Each one of them had either one or two large and angry dogs, which were all locked from their collars to the long chains.

Fat man, Two Ton, was holding with both of his hands from the long chains, in the end of which was two at Michonne angrily barking rottweilers, that were by force attempting to pull themselves off from Two Ton's hands and get their teeth and claws at Michonne, only to be halted back by Two Ton's strength.

The french man had as his dog companions at Michonne angrily snarling and their teeth baring white-brown furred Boxer and large Bullmastiff, despite having angry Golden retriever tattoo on his faces, who together joined to Two Ton's dogs in attempt to get their teeth and claws at Michonne.

That African American or Hindu-guy had as his own dog companion extremely vicious-looking black-brown Labrottie, which gladly joined to Two Ton's rottweilers in attempt to reach at Michonne.

The doctor of the group had gray Great Dane as his dog companion, and even though even it snarled angrily at Michonne, it remained with its master, unlike Two Ton's, French guy's and African American or Hindu-guy's dogs.

The young boy with the blue hoodie was as his dog companion the large German shepherd with him, who angrily snarled at Michonne while standing next to his master, while the another young man had about over fifteen angrily at Michonne snarling chihuahuas, who joined to Two Ton's and hindu guy's dogs.

And from the group's ladies, only two of them had dogs.

The purple-headed teenager girl had as her dog companion white and black shepherd dog, that, unlike the others dogs except the doctor's own, remained in the side of its master... though it as well barked at Michonne.

However, the mechanic-looking woman's own dog companions, brown American Pit Bull Terrier and Tosa Inu, joined to the other dogs angrily barking at Michonne.

Also Billy, who had retreated to the aside away from the dogs way to witness this, watched with the smug yet vicious grin out of enjoyment as he watched Michonne's desperate struggle against her bounds in the front of the pack of dogs angrily barking and snarling at her and trying desperately to have the taste of Michonne's flesh...

...during of which, Billy made his very own but more gentler whistle, and from behind of the group appeared an adult Coonhound that had light brown fur and it had a dark brown ears and a dark brown spot on his back Billy's dog also has a white muzzle and belly, and white paws.

"Hi, boy." Billy said, as he rubbed his dog's head, to which his Coonhound answered by licking his faces.

And after that, Billy decided that Michonne had already gained enough of evidence of the seed of their group's name and lifted his hand up as an order to the others to discontinue this.

And with that, after noticing Billy's hand up as an order to stop, the dogs owners whistled a couple times to order their dogs to stand down and get back to their owners.

However, Buster didn't whistle to his quite nasty and strangers-hating dogs to stop but instead allowed them to try angrily barking to reach with their claws and fangs to Michonne, as she still, even though in vain, struggled to get herself free.

However, it took from Buster five minutes before he actually let out the whistle, and after hearing their master's stern whistle, Buster's dobermans partially calmed down...even though none of the large, black and vicious-looking dogs turned their eyes away from Michonne, baring their teeth at her, growling and barking threateningly at her.

And after the dogs had calmed down, Billy, followed by his own dog, walked back in the front of the group and in front of out of relief panting Michonne.

"May I correct your words you said earlier, may I? Well, actually, we still has a lot of dogs than just those ones you killed back in that house." Billy said to the exhausted Michonne with the mocking tone.

"And the dogs here are not here to howl the opera to us. The dogs here are giving us a company during of supply runs or while guarding our borders, they guard our safety, they protect us from the threats outside – and yes, we have a good old dog fights in here, but not with the old style "dog against a dog" but more likely, "a dog against the Savior! Our dogs, at least those ones who are too vicious, feral and unable to be tamed and trained even by us, they eat extra human garbage we give to them... and what is best, they're reeaaaally fond to the taste of flesh and blood of the Saviors. Also our own dog companions hatred towards the Saviors is in the high level that the presence of the Saviors will unleash their vicious and feral side from within them. These boys and girls will without a hesitation kill and eat every Savior in their sight. And only the differences of the scent between of their masters and the Saviors keeps them from eating their masters." Billy explained.

"And yet about this place... this isn't the moving theater trailer, but it's more likely the small part of the entire Dog House... and this place, where you are chained and hanged from the chained limbs in the air like the rag doll... is an abandoned empty gymnasium with a stage. That's all what I'll tell you." Billy added finally.

"But back to business... at first, before we begin, allow me to introduce all of us to you."

"Starting from me at first, although I'm more than just sure that you already know me from out first encounter back in that house." Billy said at first.

"My name's Bill, Bill Shadow, but to you and among of my people... it's just Billy. And this is my dog, Toby." Billy said, introducing both himself and his dog to Michonne, before he turned to the others with him...

...starting from the french guy.

"This french guy is one of my best friends in here. He also happened to be one of those people who followed me to investigate that house in the border of our territory, even though I do not even care that did you saw him during the fight between of us and you." Billy said, as he walked next to the french guy and placed his left arm over his shoulders.

"Bonjour, madame! Je M'appelle, Chevalier Lumière." The french guy, called with the name Chevalier Lumière, greeted Michonne with his natural language as the french man formally and yet even politely introducing himself to Michonne by placing his hand over the place of his heart and waved his hand towards Michonne as he told her his name... even though he shared his belief about Michonne as one of the Saviors with the rest of his people.

Billy them pointed with his thump at Two Ton standing next to Chevalier Lumière in his right side.

"And that fat pooch out there next to Chevalier, I assume that you two have not met each other yet, even though he, as well as Chevalier, were both part of that attack against you and your motherfucking buck back in that house... And yet e was with me when he and I captured you from the forest during of that fight and the wild fire."

"His name is Two Ton. He might be one of the biggest and strongest pooches we got, but he's also not the smartest ones." Billy explained, before he turned his attention to Two Ton.

"Two Ton, you have not met that black chick yet, so come here to say "Hi"." Billy gestured.

And with that, Two Ton stepped towards Michonne step by step... until the fat man stood right next to Michonne.

"Well, hello there, chick." Two Ton greeted Michonne with the sarcastic toe, as the fat man lifted his free hand up and waved his fingers at Michonne, and yet giving her his wide grin and yet baring his teeth...

...which instantly revealed to Michonne, much to her disgust, that this man had very bad teeth!

Some of Two Ton's teeth were gone, probably due from the hard punches as his cheeks were still black-and-blue due to the bruises, which were apparently permanent bruises.

And the remaining teeth he had, they were either in disorder... there was a small gaps between of his teeth and they were really as if Two Ton had not washed them for a long time... leaving his teeth yellow by their color and dirty...

...thus giving him the quite bad smelling breath, which caused Michonne to turn her face away from Two Ton and wrinkled her nose in disgust.

Two Ton saw this and immediately took offense of it.

"What? Why such of attitude? Is it because of my sweet smile?" Two Ton asked sarcastically and mockingly, as he leaned forward Michonne's faces and yet even widened his grin, much to Michonne's disgust.

Michonne then let out the slight yelp out of her mouth, as she felt something cold touching her bare waist.

Two Ton was touching Michonne's half-naked body with his fat and from the tips ice-cold fingers, which caused Michonne to feel even more uncomfortable in addition to Two Ton's bad-smelling breath.

"And look at that whatta hot body!" Two Ton said mockingly, as he intentionally began to touch even more of Michonne's bare waist and hips with his fat fingers.

Now Michonne felt really uncomfortable as Two Ton ran his fat fingers and the back of his hand along the skin of her sides and abdomen... including her bare thighs.

"Wow, whatta skin... so soft and warm for the Savior. GRRRRH!" Two Ton said...

...as he began to ran his fingers upwards along of Michonne's body, moving his wide hands in the grabbing stance towards Michonne's black bikini.

"And... here are the best part of the women's body." Two Ton said with the wide grin as he was about to pour Michonne's with the bikini covered boobs and wrap his fingers around of them into the tight squeeze to feel them like the small balls in her hands.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH ME, YOU FUCKING PIG! DON'T YOU EVER DARE TO TOUCH ME!" Michonne hissed angrily and with the venomous tone, struggling furiously against both the chains and Two Ton's uncomfortable and "disgusting" touch.

A tone of Michonne's voice caused Two Ton to release his grasp from Michonne for a moment and and back off for a couple step away from her...

...with the shocked expression on his faces after Michonne's sudden angry and venomous hissing and struggling against her bounds, only to cause the chains around of her wrists to be pulled even harder upwards to

However, it didn't take long from him to recover from his temporary shock.

"What's the matter, tiger... is it about of touching you? Do you feel comfortable when I touch and keep touching you?" Two Ton asked, as he kept running his hands along Michonne's each sides skin from her from her armpits to her hips up and down time after time... only adding her uncomfortable feeling.

However, a bad teeth revealing wide grin, that bad-smelling breath and Two Ton keeping touching her all together prompted Michonne to give a big spit to Two Ton's faces, so that he could pull both his bad teeth and breath them away from her faces and from fouling the air around of her faces with them.

Michonne's unexpected spit landed on Two Ton's right eye, causing the obese man to pull his face away from Michonne and step several steps backwards...

...as he lifted his right hand to the level of his head and wiped Michonne's spit off his faces.

Two Ton then turned back to Michonne, with the angered expression.

"Oh, you wanna fight, do ya?! Huh?!" Two Ton asked menacingly.

Michonne, however, remained silent and stared at Two Ton with the stern and yet venomous look in her eyes locked at the fat man.

And then, Two Ton – after ordering his dogs to stay still while he's gone for a while - started to walk, or more likely Two Ton nearly charge towards Michonne with the attacking intentions like a big and obese but disturbed and towards the source of disturb charging bear or something.

"Such of pity, because I don't wanna fight you. I fact, I do not even need to fight you because you cannot fight back! And I am able to do with you whatever I want!" Two Ton said as he walked right in front of Michonne.

And after getting in front of Michonne, Two Ton suddenly wrapped his fat fingers around of Michonne chin and squeezed them together into the rough grasp, before he pulled his right hand backwards before he swung his hand towards Michonne's faces...

...giving to her the fiery slap to her left cheek with the brutal force, that it caused Michonne's head turn to the right and leaving to her cheek a large burning bruise from Two Ton's wide hand.

Two Ton then pulled his hand backwards and gave to Michonne another fiery slap with the back of his hand and straight to Michonne's faces, causing Michonne's head to turn back to the left.

And right after that, Two Ton pulled his right hand backwards and squeezed his fingers into the fist as an attempt to punch Michonne straight to her faces, and Michonne prepared for the incoming punch by closing her eyes and bracing herself for the impact of the punch against her faces...

...only to be halted from doing it by Billy's hard-voiced and very stern command.

" _TWO TON, THAT'S ENOUGH!_ " Billy barked with the extremely harsh yet venomous tone.

This worked perfectly to Two Ton, as he stopped himself instantly before he managed to hit with his massive fist straight into Michonne's faces and immediately turned his attention back to Billy and the others...

...leaving Michonne to hang from her bounds around of her wrists as a half-limb and unable to pull her hand to stroke the sore area on her cheek due to her chains, leaving her to moan silently out of pain in her cheeks...

"Two Ton. You were supposed to give a quick "hi" to that black bitch, not to sexually abuse her like that as if you were some fucking Savior! Besides, did you damn mutt already forgot the reason why we are here in the first place?" Billy asked harshly, reminding the obese man about something with the coldly scolding and yet venomous voice.

"Graisse imbécile!" The french guy muttered from aside, rolling his own eyes at Two Ton's slowly-acting mind.

Two Ton quickly spread his hands as an attempt to beg the chance to explain himself...

"But... I was just... I did as you told me to do... and that black bitch insulted me by spitting me into my faces and I..." Two Ton tried to explain, but he was rudely dismissed by Billy before the fat man was able to let out a single word out of his mouth.

" _NO EXCUSES BUT GET BACK INTO THE LINE, YOU BAD MUTT!_ " Billy demanded venomously, to which Two Ton humbly obeyed like recently scolded and commanded dog puppy, as the fat man lowered down his baseball bat and retreated back into the line.

Billy kept his stern look locked at Two Ton until the fat man was back in his spot in the group.

"Alright where I was..." Billy asked from himself, as he turned from Two Ton back to Michonne.

"Oh, yeah... I was about to introduce my new crew to you, black chick." Billy said, remembering within less than five minutes that what he was about to do over five minutes ago.

Billy then pointed with his thumb the big pale-gray-skinned and muscular guy behind of him.

"That big guy behind of me, he is Buster Roger. He's perfect as a bodyguard. Loyalty as hard and fierce as his muscular arms. Mind as hardened and unbreakable like oak and yet he's like a tank when attacking. Better not mess with that big guy nor annoy him or else he'll break your jaw and limbs with ease." Billy said, as he introduced Buster to Michonne.

Billy then gestured with his hand at the man standing next to Buster in his right side, who had scornful look in his eyes targeted at Michonne.

"Meet Dr. Joshua Einstein, our field medic here. One of the best ones before and after all of this shit. Let the situation be whatever; health inspection, some illness, dislocated or broken limbs, bad wounds from the blade weapons, gunshot wounds and even bites from those undead fucks and amputation operations, we have always a medic close of us to treat the sick and hurt people. Like our own animal doctor." Billy said, describing Joshua.

Billy's flattery seemingly stung to their medic's soft spot as Joshua let out the small smile to Billy.

And then, Joshua turned his furious look at Michonne.

"But everything has changed since your fucking people had to come here and bring the misery upon our people! And because of your people taking most of our medicines and bandages, plus even destroying most of my important medical devices for fun, I've started to lose even more patients than ever before to the gunshot wounds and those _abominations_ bites... thanks to your people!" The doctor snarled at Michonne.

And then, suddenly and out of nowhere, the smile appeared on the doctor's lips... but the smile was far from the kind and gentle smile of the doctors, and it was more like the grin of the sadistic psychopaths or something.

"And speaking of amputation operations... I love amputation operations, especially if I do them with this nasty little beautie." Joshua then said.

And with that, the doctor of the Street dogs then dropped his bag to the ground and took his chain saw from his back, revealing its long blade's serrated edges being covered by the dry blood to Michonne.

Though seeing the blood in the chain saw's blade didn't shocked Michonne, due to the fact that she had herself bathed in the blood and got her hands covered by so much blood that the blood of the humans, friends and enemies alike, and walkers was part of her everyday life...

...but Michonne was surprised of the doctor himself, due remembering that how polite, gentle, friendly and peace-loving, plus non-violent, the doctors used to be before all of this and some even after the beginning of all of this, this doctor had indeed the clear dark side and the vengeful lust for blood, which surprised even his colleagues.

"Isn't it beautiful, right? I definitely love to execute the amputation operations with my patients with this nasty girl, especially if my patients are your people, the Saviors. They definitely deserves such of amputations that leads to the certain deaths... and those fucking sick bastards really do not deserve any of medical treatment like their victims do."

Billy then turned to dark-skinned man.

"This Hindu is called by name Bob and he's our weapon specialist. He's the chief and guardian of our armory. He even has his own habit, as you can see. Bob has a habit to keep the count of the people he has killed by taking from them something as an trophy and note, to remind him about the count of victims he has killed." Billy explained.

"As you can see..." Bob suddenly said, and showed to Michonne his robes around of his neck, in which was hanging the numerous pieces of skin, each one of them with the marks of the Baseball Bat.

"...I've already taken the lives from a good number of your people, Bitchy... and still, my collection is not accomplished, not until I have a piece of your leader's skin around of his fucking mark of Baseball bat, his hands and his head." Bob mocked, grinning like he was taking the big pleasure of his trophies.

Billy then turned to the young duo among of the group.

"These two brothers are Dodger Jamie and his little brother Tito Jamie, one of our finest scouts and supply runners... and yet out master spies and even thieves if necessary... after Dotty of course." Billy explained, as he introduced the boys called Dodger and Tito to Michonne.

"Come on, boys. Say _Hi_ to our unwelcome guest." Billy politely and gently urged the boys.

However, both the boys remained dead-silent and neither of them didn't say anything. They both only looked up at chained and in the air between of the posts hanging Michonne with their venomous and bitter hatred and the scorn filled eyes. Their only reactions to Michonne looking back at them were, that Tito stuck out his tongue at Michonne and Dodger, turning his faces away from Michonne, lifted his right hand up and showed at Michonne his middle finger.

Michonne, despite receiving contempt and hatred from the boys, understood the reason to their attitude and behavior.

Michonne knew too well, judging from the boys silent attitude, that both boys have presumably experienced something very tragic in their life during of all of this. Probably in the form of losing someone very close and beloved to them, their family for example, to this cruel version of the world, and in the hands of the Saviors no doubt.

Michonne, having herself as well experiencing a similar process of losing the whole family to this damn world and sinking due of it deep into herself, leaving only a silent, impermeable and cold outer shell of herself to be seen while warm, friendly and motherly version of herself is imprisoned within herself, understood how it feels from the boys to lose someone very close.

"I see that the both of these boys are quite silent, Billy... and that both of them have developed a mental rock-hard outer shell that imprisons their both more warmer and friendly self deep within themselves. And I know, even without asking, that from what it is due. My condolences for the boys. I'm sorry for their lost, because I too have experienced the same mentally painful process a long time ago... in the form of losing the whole family to this fucking world." Michonne said with the gently and calm tone to the boys.

However, after mentioning about losing the family, both the boys shot their venomous and with the deep hatred filled glares at Michonne and both of them took out their pistols and aimed them at Michonne... receiving the eager encouragement from the other Street dogs.

"NO! No, you're not sorry! You're sorry for nothing! The Saviors does not feel remorse for anything what they do to us! You do not know anything about us! You come to rob us! You come to threat us! You come to kill us! You massacre us at your will. That's all what you Saviors do, but you never feel sorry for anything!" Dodger cried with the venomous and threatening tone, aiming with his handgun at Michonne's head.

"Say that I am right! Say it! Say it! Say it or I'll kill you... right between of your damn eyes!" Dodger demanded with the threatening tone, as his the gun holding hand was shaking out of impatience and from his own urge, encouraged by the crowd, to pull the trigger and kill Michonne... though Michonne clearly saw that something mentally halted him back from doing it, which was definitely not due to the compassion towards Michonne but due to something else.

But before he even could, Billy landed his hand over Dodger's gun and lowered it down.

"Stand down, Dodger. Even though I want to kill her as well for the personal reasons, as do we all, our Alpha wants to speak with her at first. Besides, you know our law, don't you?" Billy said with the gentle and brotherly tone.

Though reluctant to stand down due to his inner urge to kill Michonne, Dodger agreed by nodding to Dodger to stand down and gestured his equally reluctant little brother to do the same thing, though the young teenager locked his venomous and hatred-filled eyes at Michonne.

And after having introduced the gentlemen to Michonne, Billy then turned to the ladies of their group, who had all targeted their angry glares at Michonne.

"And now, may I introduce to you our fierce ladies in here?" Billy said as he gestured with his hand at the ladies with them.

Billy then returned back to business with introducing the rest of his group starting from the woman standing next to Buster, with the dark glare in her eyes targeted at Michonne.

"The lady in the weapon dress is Dotty Spotty, our stealthy scout and guerrilla fighter. She was once called Rita Helena before all of this shit-tasting fucking world, until she suddenly changed her surname after her dear pet dalmatian dogs named Dotty and Spotty died..." Billy explained, until Dotty unexpectedly continued for Billy after interrupting him... and without excusing herself

"...in the hands of you fucking filthy Saviors, as well as my husband and my less then years old son and daughter! You took from me my entire family, making me to wow not rest until every one of you fucking bloodthirsty monsters are dead, mutilated, fed to dogs, dead, I don't care in which ways, but still dead... in honor of my dear dalmatian and my family!" Dotty said with the dark and venomous tone - and glare - targeted at Michonne.

Billy then turned to the another teenager young lady next to Dotty and Dodger.

"That girl with us... she's Angelica Jones, but call her Angel or Angie. She might look... like a one young inexperienced and thus helpless young angel-like teenager, who anyone among of your people would pick up and rape ruthlessly... but hey, mess with this angel and she'll take off your hands in return! In fact, as an personal and never ending retribution, this angel has already taken many hands - and heads - off from many of your people who has mistaken to mess with her." Billy explained.

And after Angel, Billy turned to the last one of this group. The lady with mechanic's blue bib & brace overalls, and who had took out one tobacco, ignited it, and started smoking it to kill some time.

"Meet out chief mechanic. Her name is Megan Ramirez. Such a young tomboyish woman is quite smart with all kinds of technology and vehicles and she's even our number one Master of boxing tournament. Many challengers, men and women, have underestimated her skills in boxing and paid for that with the black eyes, broken noses, dozens and dozens of bruises and from the punches lost teeth!" Billy said as he introduced twenty-four years old mechanic named Megan Ramirez to Michonne.

And as an response, Megan spat the spit out of her mouth with the tomboy-style.

It was then, when Billy suddenly changed his expression to something else, as he kept looking at Megan and introducing her.

"And, she used to be formerly a quite nice, friendly and helpful for our people as a mechanic. But now, thanks to these fucking shit-tasting present days and world full of those fucking abominations... and the bigger thanks to your fucking Saviors-pretending people for everything they have done to us... Megan has became day after day harder than rock, even more aggressive, more colder, more stubborn and annoyingly even more sarcastic to everyone around of her... even towards her own people." Billy explained...

...unknowingly but clearly showing to Michonne that Billy held the great dislike towards that woman.

"And I am proud of it, Billy." Megan suddenly said, as she took the tobacco from her lips and blew into the air the cloud of tobacco smoke.

"But it is such of pity you're saying like that, Billy. And I though that the people of this place was supposed to be full of angry dogs, not pussy puppies." Megan said with the sarcastic tone, to which Billy responded with the silent snort out of annoyance.

And then, Billy turned from his a new crew back to Michonne.

It was then when Billy's tone and attitude changed immediately into dead-serious and darker.

"They are gonna serve me as my a new crew...after you and that fucking Prick killed most of my crew back in that house near of our border! You killed all of them! Tom, Jerry, Mark, Sam, Max, Derek, Stuart, Buddy, Grey and Hogarth and less than two hundred others of my people! They're all dead because of you and your fucking Prick Grimes!" Billy shouted angrily at Michonne, pointing her with the blaming finger.

Billy's voice turned into even darker, more angry and even vengeful as he continued.

"Especially those two people close to me at that moment! Those two were my hispanic girlfriend Zoe Rodriguez and Jackie Shadow, my Asian-American half-brother! Because of you and your fucking boyfriend, and we were forced to leave my girlfriend and my brother behind to die either at the mercy of those undead abominations or wild forest fire! Both of them might be even dead by now and it's all your and your fucking prick's fault!" Billy kept shouting furiously at Michonne.

However, despite being blamed for the deaths of most of Billy's late crew and less than two hundred others during the battle near of that house and in the forest, Michonne remained calm before the such of charges.

"May I remind you, Billy, that we at least tried to get you and your assholes to listen what we had to say to you, but you didn't listen to us. And, to be honest and in the name of the truth, it was you and your people's attempt, probably even your own desire, to kill us that forced us to rise our own weapon against you... so it was your own reckless act that caused so many deaths among of your group back in that house... probably including your brother, half-brother, or... never mind .. and your girlfriend." Michonne explained, sternly reminding Billy and from the fight narrowly survived Street dogs from their own mistakes back in the house that caused the fight to broke between of her, Rick and their people.

You should have liked to listen to us in the first place rather than rise your weapons and shoot at us. If you would have listen to us, your group could have avoided great losses in the hands of us and the walkers and in middle of the wild fire." Michonne added.

And that what Michonne claimed was actually a true, because if Billy and his people would have just listen to Rick instead of ignoring him and arrogantly opening that garage door of the house that triggered their walker trap upon Billy's old crew and eventually broke the fight between of them... there would have been no fight here, all those who died in the massacre in their hands, in the walkers teeth and in the rogue fire, would not have died.

But they didn't, due to their belief about Rick and Michonne as a part of the Saviors or as a spies of the Saviors.

And, like back in the house, Billy wouldn't listen again.

"And allow you to fill my ears with your pathetic and back-stabbing lies... which would only have led to our own final destruction from your fucking people's hand! Only in your fucking dreams, you fucking cow!" Billy said rudely.

"You and the other prick, you're liars! Nothing more than just a liars and spies! You can lie to the others but never to the Street dogs in your life! Besides, after one single hint of trust from us and foolishly given admission into our group, you would have nothing else but back-stabbingly use it as an advantage to spy on our activities and reported them back to your fucking leader... plus bringing their wrath and vengeance in the form hell and massacre for the second time upon of us"

After hearing that, Michonne shook her head out of frustration, that Billy stubbornly refused to see the truth from his own mistakes due to his over-distrustful and over-cautious attitude towards the outsiders.

"You can deny your mistake the number of times you want, but if you have any sense of responsibility over the people whom you led, and who you are leading now, you would set your own people's safety first instead of your pride, stubbornness and refusal to listen the voice of sense. You did it wrong, which led to unnecessary bloodshed, and therefore your half-brother and... your girlfriend... are supposedly dead." Michonne said.

And from that, Michonne earned from Billy the dark and venomous glare, as he turned away from Michonne.

However, Michonne didn't care of it.

However, Billy took the look into his faces like he had something against Michonne's words.

"Well, I have to apologize for ruining your chance, because I think that I'm not the only one who has probably lost something back there at the same time. I guess that _someone_ else has possibly died along with my brother and girlfriend. I guess that you know without saying that of whom I'm talking about." Billy said back.

Michonne was instantly taken aback, and she went totally speechless, which Billy saw too clearly.

"So you do know... don't you?" Billy asked slowly and with the taunting tone.

Michonne didn't answer, as she didn't even look at Billy, due to Billy's words having struck hard into her heart, as she quickly and much to her agony and sorrow realized that of whom Billy was talking about.

"Rick." Michonne whispered with the low voice, as she slowly lowered her head down and the firm look in her faces turned into the sorrowful expression, as she recalled in her mind the memory pic of Rick in middle of the flames and the herd of walkers...

...which left the heartbreaking opinion into Michonne's mind that Rick might be dead as well.

"My apologizes for your losses..." Billy started, though not because of feeling a compassion towards Michonne nor about her losses, judged from his tauntingly apologizing attitude and tone of voice.

"...but..."" Billy continued as she grabbed roughly from Michonne's right cheek and turned her to look straight at him.

"...if he's either totally dead and one of those rotten _abominations_ aimlessly wandering out there, that serves as a right fate he deserved in the first place. He should have never to come to our territory and now he probably PAID DEARLY for it!" Billy barked angrily towards Michonne's faces, before he let go of Michonne's cheek, leaving to it the painful feeling for a while.

But right after that, his tone of voice turned into a bit gentler but not with the good meanings.

"But in fact, it is a such of pity that we didn't catch him alive just like we did with you... I sent a few men back to fetch the bodies of my brother and girlfriend, whether they are either completely dead or reanimated as one of those fucking _abominations..._ I also asked them to check that has that fucking Prick Grimes somehow managed to survive and fetch him too...but only because I have a vengeance plans for both of you - but especially for him - for causing my brother's and my girlfriend's apparent deaths by the herd of _abominations_ and the forest fire."

Billy then took out the machete, as he started to walk towards Michonne.

And once in front of her, Billy placed the machete's cold and sharp blade under of her chin and to her neck's right side, sending the wave of chills to run along her body's skin after feeling the sharp and cold blade touching her skin beneath of her chin.

"You're alive for just because, according to our laws, everybody who is moving inside of our borders must to be captured and brought here to the interrogation. The captive is under the protection of our law until the end of the interrogation, after which we can do with the captives whatever we want!" Billy explained darkly.

"And after the interrogation with you is done, _YOU'RE MINE!_ " Billy added sinisterly.

"I'm going to kill you... slowly and painfully, but not through of the tortures in the _Pit of Feral Ones_ , which is reserved for the captured Saviors nor with the bullet into your fucking brains. More likely, I'm gonna slice your both jugulars open and let you to slowly and painfully die to the massive loss of blood or leave you to choke to your own blood, before I'll decapitate your head and throw your body away for the man-flesh eating dogs to take care of it... and when we cross our paths with that fucking Prick Grimes again, only if he has even survived from that herd and that hell back there, I'll make him to give to you his last goodbye kiss to your decapitated _abomination_ head... before I'll personally kill him myself!" Billy said with the vengeful and murderous tone.

After hearing Billy's vengeful plan for Rick, Michonne took the angered expression to her face and hardened her faces, neck's and arms muscles out of anger, feeling how her blood boiled out of rage in her veins, and even started to pull her arms towards herself to get loose and grab from Billy's neck to choke him to death for threatening to kill Rick - if he was even alive - through of her.

" _WHY?!_ " Michonne asked darkly and venomously.

"Because I want him to suffer just like I do now after losing my girlfriend to there to die. And seeing the death of his close friend - or maybe even a lover - before of his very own eyes is perfect way to make him suffer." Billy responded darkly, before he removed the machete's blade off from beneath of Michonne's chin and was about to turn away from her.

However, it was then when Michonne spoke again.

"Such of bloodthirsty vengeance doesn't make you better than the Saviors. I know that you're doing all of this just to protect those ones you care and love, but such of bitter hatred and the bloodthirsty lust of vengeance only destroys you from inside and you'll one very moment become the very similiar remorseless, cold-blooded and from the killing and hurting the others enjoying murderer as the Saviors, who would not hesitate if the one or ones to be killed are the little children or the little babies. Then your own people might as well to interpret you as the Savior and end their influence within you either with the knife or the bullet into your skull and brains." Michonne said, trying to talk the voice of reason into Billy's thick skull.

Billy, who was halted by Michonne's words, started to grown even angrier after reluctantly hearing Michonne's words... no matter if their were the voice of reason instead of mocking and insulting him for his lost.

"And killing me or Rick through of me doesn't bring your girlfriend and your brother back, Billy. I know that you're stressed/concerned/hurt from the fates of both of your family members because you have no idea that are they still alive or whether they have died either in the forest fire or in the teeth of the walkers after you captured me and you were forced to leave them behind. I know too well how it feels like losing something really dearest in a life and living with the knowledge that a beloved ones are dead and gone for good. I myself harbored for a long time within my heart, my mind and my soul the tragic loss of my son, who died a long time ago in the beginning of all of this shit, wandering all alone and having lost my reason to live, until I got another reason to live, and I found it from the people with whom I live, from whom I care, with whom I try to survive and from whose safety I carry the burden great responsibility on my shoulders."

"So, if you truly care for your own people's and your family's safety, instead of putting your lust for vengeance on priority instead of your own people's safety, you should leave this senseless plan for revenge. In fact, you shouldn't have even stayed behind to explain me your plans of revenge against Rick but instead go out there by yourself to find your lost family members to either bring them home if they're still alive or - find their from the walkers teeth and powerful limbs into shreds mutilated and from the forest fire burned reanimated bodies and put them out of their misery, so that you may look after your own people's safety with the full attention of yours." Michonne advised Billy.

"I know that it may be hard to put down someone you care about from your heart, even if they are merely reanimated undead corpses, but knowing that after that they'll rest in peace, instead of to be left to suffer the miserable life as an walker, gives even a bit some comfort." Michonne added.

However, Billy stubbornly refused to listen to her.

And instead, he suddenly turned around and draw a cattle prod in the next of Michonne's left cheek, which he then pulled on and the electric beam appeared within seconds between of two tips of the object, sending the blue-white light against of the left side of Michonne's head and a deep _BZZZZ_ -electric sound from it.

The object drawn too close of her faces and after putting it on, causing the electric beam to appear between of the two tips in the head of it, caused Michonne to gasp in shock and trying to pull away from the object's electric head.

"KEEP THAT LYING AND DECEITFUL WORMTONGUE WITHIN YOUR DAMNED MOUTH, YOU FUCKING BLACK BITCH! YOUR FUCKING LIES HAS NO EFFECT TO US IN HERE!" Billy threatened with the extreme angry tone.

And after that, Billy placed his cattle prod's electric head close to Michonne's mouth and her lips... forcing to Michonne to pull her head backwards to avoid any physical contact with the object's electric head.

Billy then locked his eyes threateningly yet warningly at Michonne.

"Despite that I sent a team to fetch their bodies if they even are there or in the entire area anymore, I myself have much more important things to do than chase the undead walking carcasses all around of the woods, you damned cow! And leaving them to that miserable state out there is nothing compared to something more tragic that really struck to us emotionally and mentally like the fucking asteroid that wiped out the fucking dinosaurs! You do not know anything about us nor about what we have experienced or what we have lost in the hands! Our problems and the reasons to our actions are our own and they definitely do not belong to anyone outside of our community and territory! But we'll keep doing this to your people to make them to know that how we felt when they brought the Hell upon us, no matter if it means killing each one of those fucking Saviors until there's none left to stand! So keep your fucking mouth shut or I'll shock your tongue with this thing to make you shut your trap!" Billy threatened.

And after five-ten minuted of this.

And then, after making sure that Michonne, apparently, got the message, Billy turned the object off and the electric beam disappeared from its head and pulled it away from Michonne's faces, turning his back at in the chains hanging woman.

And then, Billy let out the frustrated sigh to escape from his mouth.

"Outsider women. Why they always wastes our time by endlessly pleading us to listen to them when they try to endlessly claim that they have no knowledge nor alliance nor nothing to do with the Saviors or pleading from us something like "I don't know what you're talking about" or "You must believe me" and stuff, with which along with the other filthy lies they think that they can get to us and then stab to our backs when we led down our guards to replace them with the trust and sympathy. In fact... the women are the death weight." Billy declared.

But he then quickly turned to the ladies in his group, who seemed to be the largely offended by Billy's declare that the women are nothing more than just the death weight that can be thrown away like the garbage.

"I meant outsider women, who are the death weight. Not the women within our pack." Billy corrected himself, though not with the apologizing tone.

It was then when Buster turned his look at the ladies of their group and snorted disapprovingly...

...before he turned to Billy.

"And speaking of the women, Billy." Buster said, catching Billy's attention.

"I still keep asking that why you had to take a females into our team, Billy? You yourself know that the females are not as aggressive and willing to do dirty and even bloody job like a men or nasty angry dogs such, such like German Shepherds, Dobermans, Labrotties and Rottweilers. Not even close. Those female mutts are never capable to be in charge here. Especially that purple-headed little lady, and yet she's still one of us who are in charge here, despite her young age and girly street-appearance." Buster suddenly said with sarcastic but a bit despising tone, that told to Michonne that maybe this Buster-guy didn't really believe women, even teenagers, to be worth standing in the ranks of men, such of men like he himself.

...but it also prompted all the three ladies to grab from the handles of their blade weapons and pull them partially out from their sheaths, while the mechanic-like one lifted her blood-covered french up, along with even baring their teeth and snarling angrily at Buster...

...as if their were both territorial stray dogs when their territory is invaded and threatened, as they bared their teeth like the dogs when threatened, partially pulled out their blade weapons from their sheaths like the dogs pushing out their claws ready to fight and yet even snarling at Buster warningly.

"Was that a challenge!" Angel asked from Buster with the sharply warning and yet venomous hissing tone.

"Or more likely, was that signing to yourself a death warrant? Because if it was, I will gladly smash your skull inside with my wrench from the five spots!" Megan threatened with the sharp and venomous tone, as she took her wrench into the defensive stance in her hand.

"And because if that was a challenge, then you better to grab to the weapon as an acceptance of the challenge!" Dotty snarled with the threatening tone to Buster...

...and with that, both Angel's and Megan's dogs turned from Michonne at Buster, reacting by the very same way as they mistress did , angrily barking and threateningly snarling at Buster, after being offended/insulted by Buster's offending insult towards them.

However, Buster wasn't moved of the ladies nor their dogs threatening attitudes at all...

...but instead, tall muscular man kept his full focus on his dobermans as their turned their attention from Michonne to Dotty, Angel, Megan and their own dogs, letting out the loud barks and angry snarls out of their mouths at the ladies and their dogs in the defense of their master from the angry ladies.

Buster knew his dobermans notorious aggression and their sensitively-triggered attack instincts, which demanded from him to keen an extra-watchful eye on his own dobermans and to ensure that his dogs instincts do not gets bets of them and drives them to attack both the ladies accidentally.

But, with the quick whistle, Buster was able to keep his dogs from advance in the attack intentions any further close of the ladies, as they a bit reluctantly yet obediently retreated away from the ladies, though they still snarled at them and their dogs.

"Dotty, Angel and Megan. You know the rules, ladies. The challenges must be officially informed before the Alpha of our pack... and the Street dog does NOT KILL another Street dog." Buster smugly reminded the ladies.

After hearing this, both Dotty, Angel and Megan snarled loudly out of frustration and defeat, and with the great reluctance, both ladies released their grip from their blade weapons handles and put them back into their sheaths.

Buster wasn't usually coward, especially if he's up against the Saviors, but in the nearly to the fight leading arguments he always uses the Street dogs' rules to shield himself from his own kind when he accidentally - but more deliberately - irritates other members of the pack of Street dogs.

Michonne saw clearly, that both Dotty, Angel and Megan were in the edge of urge to kill Buster in this place, but all three of them were forced to retreat because they were under the law of the Street dogs, which everybody within the pack was bound to respect... under penalty of punishment.

New world, new rules, and yet even more serious penalties.

Still in the edge of the urge/desire to kill Buster right there and right now and extremely reluctant to stand down - yet knowing the rules of the Street dogs, the lady trio were forced to retreat and order their dogs back.

However, Megan didn't completely stood down but kept furious attacks by words against Buster while shaking her wrench in her hands

"You claim yourself not as a coward, Buster, and yet you're hiding behind of our rules or your own dogs in safe from our wrath or challenge like some kind of mice, you bring to the Street dogs a shame. Probably you do not even dare to strike against the Savior like her." Megan furiously and yet sarcastically claimed.

Buster took this as an offense.

"Hey, I'll take down ten Saviors with the bare hands if necessary to prove to you than I'm far from being coward, while you can't break even a bone with that little toy of yours!" Buster protested with the annoyed tone.

"Yeah, sure you will. But that's not gonna happen... never gonna happen from you... not with your bare fists nor with your little pathetic toothpicks against all ten Saviors, who never dares to go to close combat with anyone 'cause they're too afraid to do that and rather hide behind of their guns... Well, I'm not a coward who hides behind of the guns and shoots the threat before they make the hostile contact. I strike back before they strike me, as I didn't used wasted any bullet to the herd of one hundred _abominations_ and one partol of twenty Saviors out there... I killed them rather than avoided them, smashed from each one of them their skulls to inside with my wrenches." Megan said proudly, which greatly annoyed Buster and a bit Billy as well.

"Show off..." Buster murmured as she tried to ignore Megan's whole presence.

However...

"And speaking of cowardice, you do not differ much from the Saviors, Buster. Because just like they hide behind of their weapons, you alike hide cowardly behind of your dogs as a moment ago... only because of your cowardice which is the reason why you never accept the challenge from the ladies, right buster?" Megan asked yet again with the sarcastic and taunting attitude.

Buster didn't take this question kindly from Megan.

"Hey! The rules have nothing to do with the cowardice, Megan. I'm just trying to follow the rules in here and neither of both of us is above of them. But tell me this, Megan, since when YOU have willingly followed the rules of this place?!" Buster questioned.

Megan snarled at this out of frustration and annoyance and took the battle-ready stance towards Buster.

"Don't you dare to question how do I follow the rules while living in this place full of wuss's, Buster, or else fuck the rules and I'll right here and right now break every bone from your fucking body with my wrench, finishing from your fucking skull... I would love to see your head and faces beaten to death and unrecognizable with my wrench!" Megan threatened.

And with that threat, Buster took the leashes to his dogs collars into his right hand, so that he was able to grab from his sheath one of his Desert Eagle Mark XIX handguns and aimed with it at Megan's head!

However, Megan wasn't afraid at all of being held with the gun point.

"Don't you dare to threat me with your damn toy, you fucking woman, or I'll kill you... RIGHT BETWEEN OF YOUR DAMN FUCKING EYES!" Buster threatened as he took off the safety from his weapon and was about to press it against Megan's forehead...

...only for Megan to aggressively swing her arm against Buster's handgun, turning it away and causing Buster to reflexively to fire one shot with his pistol, which startled everyone in the room, even the dogs.

"Don't you dare to point your fucking gun at my head, you fucking lunatic mutt!" Megan snarled aggressively.

"And you do not befoul my weapon with your filthy oil-covered hands or else I'll put the bullet INTO THE FUCKING BRAINS OF YOURS!" Buster snarled back.

"COME ON AND TRY! PULL THE TRIGGER AND SHOOT ME IF YOU DARE! OR ARE YOU TOO COWARDLY TO ANSWER FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS TO OUR ALPHA, YOU COWARDLY SCAREDY MUTT!" Megan screamed out of fury and lifted her wrench up into the air and ready to smash with it Buster's skull.

This also prompted both Buster's and Megan's dogs to bark at each others in the defense of their masters.

"I'M SERIOUS, MEGAN! I'LL KILL YOU IF I HAVE TO OR IF YOU MAKE ME TO, SO BACK OFF!" Buster ordered.

"TRY TO GET A MORE EFFECTIVE THREATS THAN THAT AND GET BACK OFF YOURSELF LIKE A SCARED PUPPY YOU ARE, BUSTER!" Megan barked, not moved by Buster's threats, nor even the glance of Buster attempting to stop himself from pulling the trigger of his gun.

"SHUT UP, OR I'LL SHOOT, YOU VIOLENT MUTT!" Buster barked.

"GO AHEAD THEN, YOU PATHETIC AWUSS PUPPY!" Megan barked back.

The fight between Buster and Megan started to get so far that Billy and the others of the group were forced to rush in between of those two fighters to break them apart and to prevent the fight breaking up between of them...

...while Michonne followed this fierce and nearly into the bloody fight breaking argument between of two members of Billy's group.

Michonne rolled her eyes and let out the deep sigh, clearly sensing that whatever the Saviors have done to these people, their actions had nopt affected to their distrust and caution attitude towards the outsiders but also to their own social system around of their own group due to the members of their people seemed to have every minute an argument of something, as seen back in the house before the fight between of her, Rick and these people, and even now.

If these people were about to beat the Saviors as an retribution for what they have done to these people, the large numbers, large weaponry and the battle dogs aren't even close enough to it. These people did not seem to lack a sense of teamwork, but they seemed to lack social confidence among themselves.

The distrust within their people was their weakness, because with the distrust and arguments and fights within their group, creates the gaps of bitterness between of the trusts and friendships, weakens the strength of strategic progress for their goal, teamwork and the people's moral, making them a weaker than the Saviors and easy to be wiped out.

And it was what they seems have failed to notice, due to their an arrogant view of victory through of their large number of fighters and weapons and dogs.

These people, who are greatly disordered, and separated from each others by distrust, often arguments and violent fights, their members own differences and their disagreements of anything, they needed to learn to put their differences aside, turn the distrust into trust and mutual respect towards each others to make themselves stronger and work together if they wanted to badly to beat the Saviors for good or else they'll be wiped out for certain.

This would be a perfect opportunity to Michonne to get closer of them to speak with them about the alliance with Alexandria and Hilltop against Negan.

"If you really want to rid yourself and your people from the Saviors for good, then you should learn to work together rather than go against each others like some kind of undisciplined pack of junkyard dogs."

Michonne's sudden speaking broke the fierce fight between of Buster and Megan (and their dogs) like into the wall and they all turned their attention from each others to Michonne's direction.

"And, as disordered and separated by your distrust, differences, arguments, fights and disagreements, you're making yourself weaker than what do you look like in the eyes of the outsiders, despite your large number of fighters, weapons and dogs. If you keep doing this and do not continue towards your goal as one people rather than separated... the Saviors will destroy your people for sure." Michonne said to the group with the warning tone.

Everybody had went speechless after hearing that what Michonne had just said... all except Megan herself.

"YOU SHUT YOUR FUCKING TRAP AND STAY OUT OF THIS, YOU BLACK BITCH, OR ELSE I'LL CUT OFF YOUR TONGUE TO MAKE YOU SHUT UP! WITHIN THESE WALLS, THE OUTSIDERS DO NOT HAVE A RIGHT TO SPEAK NOR INTERFERE WITH THE BUSINESS THAT DOES NOT BELONG TO THEM!" Megan aggressively barked at Michonne, but Michonne ignored her.

"And who you are commanding me to shut my trap like that... you heard what that Buster-guy said. You're not above of the laws nor him as well." Michonne responded back sternly.

Buster's dobermans, having lost their interest of fighting with Megan's dogs and turned angrily barking and aggressively snarling back to Michonne, but were halted back by their master Buster, who went speechless as he realized that Michonne was taking his side in this argument, though the pale-gray skinned man still hold on his belief of Michonne as one of the Saviors... but was still surprised after hearing something like that coming from Michonne's mouth.

Megan then turned her eyes away from the fight with Buster and started to eye Michonne for a while.

And after for while of eyeing her, it was clear from her expression that the woman was not impressed.

Megan then turned to Billy and to the others, who only stared at Michonne speechless.

"What's the matter, guys? Did this, black bitch caught your tongues off by the words rather than with the sword?" Megan asked from the group, after which she was even about to let out the mockingly hearty laugh to escape from her mouth.

"You're all wusses as you all went speechless after hearing all of that bullshit from that black bitch, who - as you claimed, Billy, managed to kill Tom and Max, despite those pooches being your previous crew's strongest duo members?" Megan asked with the mocking tone.

Megan was about to burst into another mocking hearty laugh, until it was halted by the gunshot... from Billy's handgun.

"Don't... even... think about it, Megan!" Billy sternly warned venomously.

Though a bit shocked of the gunshot as well as Billy's venomous tone of voice, Megan remained calm as always.

"You weren't back there seeing how they died, Megan. This black bitch indeed managed to kill both Tom and Max... she caused Max knee to be dislocated with one kick, leaving him to be devoured by those _abominations_ and savagely bit from Tom's arm like some of those _abominations_ out there, before savagely mutilating him to death with a sword!" Billy said.

This caused Michonne to recall in her mind the memories of these people attacking to the house, where she and Rick were looking for the shelter and safe place to sleep until Billy and his gang had ambushed them, believing them to be Saviors, in order to steal their stuff... which had forced her and Rick to kill most of them in self-defense... though the moment when Michonne killed that red-masked guy, who had brutally held her in still with his black-masked friend, with the extremely savage way and out of such of blind, vengeful and murderous rage still bothered her... as she held the strong will to not become the same cold-blooded, murderous and remorseless monster like many bad people they had faced, from the Governor to cannibals of Terminus, from cannibals to their own treacherous people, from them to the wolves and now from the wolves to the Saviors.

Megan chuckled mockingly at this that another cloud of tobacco smoke escaped between of her lips.

Megan then turned on Billy, still having mocking grin on her lips.

"We'll see that." She said darkly to Billy as she looked at him.

And then, Megan turned to Michonne.

"It's time to welcome our non-welcome guest to our Doghouse, in the way of the Big. Nasty. Angry. Dogs." Megan sarcastically said as she breathed one last time tobacco smoke within herself before blowing it out, and eventually tossing the tobacco away.

And with that, Megan then started to walk towards Michonne with the style of tough tomboy...

...passing calmly Buster's fierce and still at Michonne (but also at her as well) angrily snarling and barking dobermans, without paying any attention to them.

In fact, she did not had to, because her own large dogs were taking care of that one by protecting their mistress from Buster's dobermans.

And then, Megan stopped right in front of between of posts hanging Michonne.

Both the ladies then locked their eyes at each other, staring at each other for long with hatred and venomous look in their eyes.

Michonne then started to think that if just she was free from his chains that were halting her in place, and if just her sword would be nearby and within the range of her reach, she would immediately and without hesitation to remove that woman's head off her shoulders with one swing of her sword, killing her.

And Megan himself started to think that if the laws of Street dogs would not prevent them to kill Michonne, because according to their laws, every within the border of their territory captured outsider must to be kept alive until interrogation, she would just kill her by using her as a punching bag and beat her to death at once.

Though Megan acted like the young rebel and a lone wolf, she was not above of the laws of the Street dogs, which bothered her greatly.

However, the law did not included harming the captive physically, which pleased her.

"What are you looking at, black chick?" Megan asked rudely from Michonne, as she started to find Michonne's glare back at her as an offense against her.

"Don't call me "black chick", you fucking scar-face. And what you are looking at?" Michonne snarled between of her teeth.

Megan's faces hardened in fury after being called "scar-face".

"Just waiting for the evidence for Two Ton's, Chevalier's and Billy's claims of being that what he has described you and your fighting style... for example waiting you to attack me right now." Megan said tauntingly, unintentionally revealing the hint of arrogance in her voice to Michonne.

Michonne let out the small snort out of annoyance, knowing that Megan knew very well that she was unable to take any assaulting move against her because she was hanging in between of two posts and she was chained from her wrists and ankles to the tight tightened chains that kept her still in the air.

Now she was helplessly hanging in there while Megan took with the pleasure the opportunity to arrogantly mock her of her lack of movement

"Oh, come on! Do something to prove yourself to be such of tiger as Two Ton a minute ago described you! I'm waiting for a such!" Megan mockingly encouraged.

However, Michonne didn't do anything, nor said anything, which frustrated Megan even more.

"Fine... I'll then start to do something if you don't! Starting from checking that how rock-hard bitch you really are." Megan said out of frustration.

And with that, Megan unexpectedly to Michonne swung one of her arms to another side, squeezing both of her hands fingers into a fists, before Megan proceed by swinging her right fist towards Michonne's faces...

...punching her to her left cheek with the brutal force that it caused Michonne's head turn to the right and leaving to her left cheek a large burning bruise.

Megan kept doing this to Michonne, using her like the living fleshly punching bag.

Megan proceed by beating Michonne's faces with three hard punches, with four of a lateral hook punches and cpuple of straight punches.

The stone-hard punches left the nasty black-blue bruises to both of Michonne's cheeks, as well as her nose and lip bleeding.

And then, Megan targeted her fists to her upper body.

Megan did a several stone-hard from down to upwards going hook-punches to Michonne's abdomen, and the strikes were strong enough to force the air out of her. And Megan even crowned her actions with the hard kick with her left knee into Michonne's abdomen, causing Michonne to gasp for the air.

And then, Megan had had enough of punching Michonne like some kind of punching back and leaned on his knees to have some breath...

...while Michonne herself was panting rapidly as she hung in the place as limp from such of punching... and not the mention about Megan having her brass knuckles in her hands while punching. Michonne was also unable to pull her hand to stroke the sore area on her cheek due to her chains.

Michonne moaned silently out of pain in her sore and bruised cheeks, faces and stomach...

...while Megan, satisfied of what she just did, turned away from Michonne at her group in front of her.

"You see, Billy? You were wrong of this pathetic black chick!" Megan said to Billy.

"This bitch isn't that tough as you, Two Ton and Chevalier Lumière described her back in that house near of our borders. Just look at her! She's nothing, definitely nothing, nothing with or without her a overgrown knife or with the bare hands. That means that she has not a physical nor mental rock-hard nature nor does any resistance against my punching. She's just hanging in there and surrendering herself up like the lousy punching bag for the beating. Pitiful and frustrating of her! Even from twenty heavily armed Saviors and from the herd of one hundred abominations can be found some a worthy challenge... and the skulls for to be smashed inside." Megan mockingly declared.

Megan then grabbed with her right hand from Michonne's chin, wrapping her fingers around of it and squeezed them together, with even a harder squeeze than what Two Ton had, and roughly lifted her head up to show to the rest of the group her bloody faces.

"See? Her faces are already bloody, beaten and completely bruised. These are the faces of the punching bag and... AAAAAAAAAARGH!" Megan suddenly screamed loudly in pain which she felt in her hand that was holding Michonne from her chin.

Billy and rest of her group, who had silently stood in still while watching Michonne getting beaten by Meegan from aside, doing nothing to stop it because the law concerned the hostages did not included harming them physically, startled of Megan's unexpected and so suddenly silence breaking scream in pain coming from Megan's mouth.

They all then looked at Michonne and were a bit shocked after finding out the reason of Megan's scream out of pain.

Megan's devastating punching hadn't drained out all strength from Michonne as Megan had arrogantly believed, and after she had grabbed with her right hand and fingers roughly from Michonne's chin and turned her attention to the rest of the group...

...Michonne had taken this as an advantage and struck her teeth in between of Megan's right hand's thumb and forefinger and sunk her teeth with all her mighty into Megan's flesh like the walkers.

"AAAAAAAAAA! LET GO YOU FUCKING BEAST!" Megan screamed in pain, as she attempted to pull her hand off Michonne's teeth!

Michonne hardened her own bite force around of the piece of flesh from Megan's hand, and yet she even shook her head from side ot another like... in Billy's and the rest of his team's eyes... like the wild dog, who had just attacked on the survivor.

And when Megan finally managed to pull her hand off Michonne's teeth, her screaming out of pain continued, as she out of reflexes wrapped her another hand around of her right arms wrist and took a look at her hand.

It was then, when Megan noticed that together her attempts to pull her hand off from Michonne's mouth and Michonne's own bite force and shaking her head at the same time had caused Michonne to bite off a chunk clean right outta her.

There was a small piece of flesh missing from between of her right hand's thumb and forefinger, leaving the clean bite wound to bleed her own blood!

Billy, Joshua, Chevalier and Dotty were the first ones to rush to Dotty's aid...

...While Bob and Dodger - as well as Megan's dogs - rushed to Michonne, whose mouth was covered by blood, and not only her own blood from the beating but most of it from Megan's hand... and who them spit out of her mouth both the blood and the piece of flesh from Megan's hand off her mouth to the floor.

Bob aimed his Mossberg 590 Compact Cruiser at Michonne's head while Dodger aimed one of his Taurus Raging Bull model 444 and one of his Smith & Wesson Model 460V revolver at Michonne to keep her under control with the gun point...

...and Meegan's dogs started extremely aggressively bark and snarl at Michonne right in front of her faces, and they were barely halted back by Dodger and Bob.

And the remaining ones of Billy's crew, along with the dogs, stood still in place and watched this from aside.

"Wow! Whatta tiger! I definitely don't want to be near of that tiger, or else she'll take a piece off my own hands." Two Ton stated to Buster, Tito and Angel, mockingly referring with his words about the moment, when Michonne had mutilated some of them with her sword back in that night in the next of that house.

Buster did a quick nod and gave to Two Ton a quick smile out of agreement.

"Well, that overconfident bitch got what she deserved." Buster chuckled, reffering Megan.

From all four of them, Joshua was the first one who reached to Meegan, as the mechanic still kept looking at the bite wound in her hand.

"Are you alright, Megan. Let me have a look at your hand." The doctor of the group offered, but Megan stubbornly pulled her hand away from the doctor... and yet even rudely pushed Joshua... as well as anyone who dared to touch her, shaking their hands off her... away from her.

"AM I OKAY?! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY FUCKING KIDDING ME?! AM I OKAY?! NO! I'M DEFFINITELY NOT OKAY!" Megan screamed out of pain and fury.

"THAT BITCH... THAT... THAT... SHE... SHE... SHE BIT ME, MAN... THAT FUCKING BLACK BITCH TOOK A CHUNK CLEAN RIGHT OUTTA ME!"

Everybody turned their angry glares at Michonne, who was still held down with the gun point by Dodger and was threatened by Megan's dogs.

"Cette chienne! What she thinks she's?! Some kind of "still-living _abomination_ " or what?" Chevalier asked from himself and the others.

"I don't care is she's either still-living or undead _abomination_! She do that again, and I shall kill her!" Dodger snarled.

Still from the beating panting Michonne turned her head to Dodger.

"Why such of surprise and such of aggression from all of you for the captive's self-defense act? You guys call yourself a Street dogs and the street dogs sometimes bite without a hesitation if they feel themselves threatened. Has anyone of you guys ever done that very same thing to the any Savior or have you guys ever saw anyone from the Savior doing anything just like that to anyone of you before?" Michonne asked from Dodger...

...who angrily pressed his handguns pipes even harder against her right temple and her right cheek.

Bob also pressed his own Mossberg 590 Compact Cruiser's pipe harder against Michonne's left cheek.

Michonne winced slightly out of pain she felt in her sore cheeks after Dodger and Bob has pressed their guns pipes against them.

"YOU KEEP YOUR FUCKING MOUTH SHUT, OR ELSE I'LL PUT THE MUZZLE OF YOU, YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Bob threatened.

Michonne then, despite the guns having turned at her head, turned to Bob.

"Then go ahead and do it, you asshole." Michonne encouraged fearlessly.

"But know that if you continue doing this, both to outsiders and to yourselves, and if you do not stand as a one people against the common enemy, your entire people is only taking a one step closer and closer of your certain merciless doom in the hands of the Saviors." Michonne said with the warning tone.

This caused both Bob and Dodger to go speechless after hearing Michonne's words.

Both of them have taken aback, and they even took their guns pipes off from Michonne's skin and lowered them slowly down, as they started to think of Michonne's words and the meaning of them.

 _If they keep doing this, both to the outsiders and to themselves, and not stand as a one against a common enemy, they'll only take a one step closer and closer of their own certain doom in the hands of the Saviors._

Even Billy, Joshua, Chevalier and Dotty, having heard Michonne's words, took aback and turned their eyes to look straight at Michonne out of confusion.

And so did Two Ton, Buster, Tito and Angel.

However, Megan, who was still totally enraged of Michonne bitting a piece off her hand, ignored this and furiously emerged out from the middle of her fellow Street Dogs and taking Joshua and Chevalier off guard by this, pushed both of them with the brutal force and quite rudely both of them out of her way, as her made her way towards Michonne.

And on her way, she grabbed from Joshua's medical bag a one roll of bandages and tied up her wound in her hand with it.

"You FUCKING... BITCH!" Enraged mechanic barked out of fury as he approached Michonne like with the intentions to attack her.

Billy, after snapping back to reality from his thoughts of Michonne's words, was the first one to go after her

"Megan! Stop! Remember, the laws of the Street dogs! You're not above of them! Remember that the prisoner has to be kept allive 'till the end of interrogation before we shall kill him! It's the Alpha's orders MY FATHER'S ORDERS, so back off before I make you to back off!" Billy said sternly to Meegan in attempt to make her stand down from this, even going in front of Meegan and pressed forcefully his hands to Megan's shoulders and pushed her backwards as an alternate attempt to make her to stop.

However, Megan draw both her hands against Billy's chest and pushed him even more forcefully out of her way, ignoring what Billy had just told to her.

"Fuck the laws of your daddy, Billy! My vengeance on that black bitch comes first!" Megan barked.

Megan's forceful push was powerful enough to knock Billy off his feet, which caused him to fall over on his back to the floor, and Meegan just walked through ignoring him and not even bothering to apologize her actions.

However, Billy still had most of the crew on his side.

"Dodger! Bob! Seize her!" Billy ordered.

Both men, after hearing Billy's orders that caught their attention and turning away from Michonne only to see a furious Megan coming towards them, obeyed immediately their leader's son and placed their weapons back to their sheaths...

...and attempted to keep Megan away from the prisoner.

However, Megan's dogs jumped in between of them and Megan and reacted to Dodger and Bob's attempt to grab on Megan by snarling and barking aggressively at both of them, preventing them from even touching with the tips of their fingers to their mistress, what Megan used as her advantage and proceed by forcefully and rudely pushing both of them out of her way and on their backs to the floor...

...and her dogs, garding their mistress back, proceed by pinning both of them down to the ground and snarled aggressively at them right in front of their faces to keep them down...

...leaving Michonne at enraged Megan's mercy.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Thirteenth** **cliffhanger...**

 **Michonne is within the heart of the Dog House and surroundd by Billy's a new group of a Street dogs, who has some problems such as distrust, differences, arguments, fights and disagreements upon them. And now one member, Meegan, is in the goal to kill Michonne as an vengeance against her for bitting the piece off her hand and nothing seems to stopping her from gaining her venegance.** **.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya in the next time.**


	14. Chapter 14: Struggle within the van

**CHAPTER 14: STRUGGLE WITHIN THE WRECKAGE!  
**

Meanwhile, Inside of the overturned backside of the wreck of van that was lying in the woods next to the road and a small hillside after being shot and knocked off the road to the the ditch...

There was totally horrible mess, as every gun and other supplies onboard had flew out from their still in once pieces survived, partially broken or completely smashed boxes to everywhere during of the van's rolling along the road and its flight through the air and trees.

And... some of the weapons was also lying all around of the van's wreck.

Rick, who was burried alive under of the messed cargo after the rough ride and the landing was over, and who was quite bruised and battered from the rough ride and landing and landing but still very much alive, crawled slowly up on their feet from beneath of the messed guns and other supplies.

Rick was the first one of two who managed to get out from beneath of the pile of guns and other supplies on his knees.

And once he did, he felt stinging ache in his head and immediately lifted his arms upwards and wrapped his hands around of his head to relieve the pain.

"Oww! I think I hit my head to something and very hard." Rick moaned.

Zoe then emerged out from beneath of the pile of weapons and other stuff too, in the equal physical condition like Rick. And while emerging out from the pile of weapons and stuff, she rubbed with her hand her bruised faces right side... due to having two sore and bleeding scratches, one to her temple and another one to her cheek in middle of the big bruise.

"For the Savior, or at least ex-Savior, you got a very hard head. It's probably not easy to get it crushed, even if it is beaten with the end of the shotgun." Zoe commented teasingly, to which Nick shook his head and let out the snort.

However, there was no time for the raillery, because now when they've stopped by the Saviors, it would be clear that they would come down here to check the situation in the wreck, take all whatever is left from their stuff and kill them without hesitation.

And that, taking the command of the trio, Rick turned to Zoe.

"Zoe, the Saviors will certainly come down here to check the wreck and take all what's left from our cargo, including to kill us. Is there any big bags here into which we can pack our stuff, enough of guns, food, ammo and other supplies that what we can carry?" Rick asked, as he eyed the mess while trying to find the bags.

Lucky for them, Zoe's answer was positive.

And with the nod, Zoe turned to one corner, from where was three-four large bags waiting for to be used.

"Yes! At least three-four bags. They are our contingency plan if any of our big vehicles are in such situations like where we are now. All those who have surivived from such of rough ride and the fall over the ditch... each one of them takes the bags and packs them with everything what we can carry, the guns, food, ammo and other supplies, and then evacuates the wreck and leaves dead ones and all damaged, and even undamaged, stuff behind for the Saviors to slow down their pursuit." Zoe explained.

"Good!" Rick exclaimed, and took one of the bags which Zoe handed over to him.

"It's good for you that your people had prepared for everything. My congratulations for that." Rick said.

And for that, Zoe gave to Rick her polite smile.

"Thanks. I take that as a compliment. Besides, live long enough under the tyrannical rule of the Saviors, you pick up a thing or two... to both _trick them_ in front of their faces and behind of their backs and prepare for their ultimate downfall." Zoe said.

Zoe then took one of the bags for herself, opened it and was about to gather the stuff into it, until Rick stopped her.

"Wait! I'll will start to pack our stuff, starting from my pack at first. You go to the van's cabin and the driver's seat to check that is Jackie still alive and okay from such of ride, and then come back here to help me to pack our stuff into the packs." Rick said.

This caused Zoe to turn to the van's cabin and the driver's seat, quickly remembering that Jackie was still in there since he got the fist wrestle with the Savior that had jumped into the cab from the back of the bike on the road before the crash.

And then, Zoe turned back to Rick and nodded.

However, before she left for Jackie, she created the suspicious look into her faces as she looked at Rick.

"Okay, I'll go. But don't even think of trying to steal _our_ stuff and then sneak away from the scene and leave us here to die!" Zoe warned Riock sternly, showing that there was still some distrust in Zoe towards Rick, even though she seemed to lay her trust to Rick in this very moment.

Rick sighed out of a slight frustration for this, as he learned that Zoe remained partially distrustful towards him even though they're still all in the same boat and in the common trouble with the Saviors.

"May I remind you that we're now on the same boat and in the common trouble with the Saviors? So maybe we can put the distrust between of us aside for a while and focus more either to our escape or counter-attack on them." Rick said.

"Besides, try to guess twice that am I willing to run out of the wreck, cowardly intending to flee from the scene with the bag full of some of the guns and goods and without you two... and then get shot immediately from the short range by the Saviors before I can even disappear into the woods."

This one from Rick's mouth left Zoe quite speechless, thus unable to answer.

Zoe was at least definitely sure of one thing. That for the Savior, or at least ex-savior by her opinion of him, Rick got the point... and that the man like him certainly wasn't a sneaky and selfish coward neither overconfident fool to jump in front of the Saviors guns and get shot once he emerged out of the wreck.

It didn't take from Zoe too long before she finally got the word out of her mouth.

"Only if you're a sneaky and selfish coward or overconfident fool to even try that." Zoe said.

But before she tried to move towards the van's cabin, she turned to Rick yet one more time.

"But... you were a fool at the moment when you started to boss the Street dogs. We Street dogs do not usually take the orders from the outsiders... no matter how harmless or dangerous they are." added and kept moving towards the cabin.

Rick followed her going towards the van's cabin, until his eyes were locked to the Savior, whose badly bruised body was lying motionlessly on his back against the van's wall behind of the passenger's seat.

The Savior seemed to not have any fatal damage, even though the guy's while sleeveless shirt was tattered and the blood-stained, and yet his faces were quite bruised and full of scratches... plus, even his blonde hair and the faces were quite blood-stained.

Zoe, however, did not seem to pay any attention to the Savior, probably thinking that he was dead.

And probably it was so, because there's no need for the physical damage that can lead to the unavoidable death if the Savior had suffered the death throughg of the some inner fatal damage or then he did broke his neck in that rough raid.

However, Rick was not convinced of this, and it was not about that, that apparently dead-looking body, that has reanimated as an walker, suddenly wakes and attacks anything living in near of it... depending on what kind of condition the walker's body was.

But it's about the humans themselves... because people always have enough intelligence to pretend dead or frame their deaths so that they can strike when it's last thing to expect by their victims.

And Rick already has experience of this, which cost him his late wife back in the prison.

However, Rick turned back to his bag and opened it, starting to pick up the weapons, ammunition magazines, canned food, water bottles and other useful supplies to check their condition, and putting in the bag all those who were intact and still in service...

...but Rick of course paid the look at the Savior's carcase every five or ten seconds, not wanting to take any risks of being tricked by the Savior.

And while Rick started to pack up their stuff into the bags, Zoe passed the Savior's carcase and kept heading towards the van's cabin.

"JACKIE? JACKIE? ARE YOU OKAY OUT THERE?" Zoe called for Jackie, as she entered to the van's from the rough raid twisted cabin and looked around of her.

Zoe found at first the Savior, with whom Jackie was fighting in the cabin before the rough crash.

The Savior was lying partially out of the cabin and that his upper body was lying outside of the cabin. Yet he was fatally impaled by one of the shards of the broken windscreen from his waist, killing him, and yet his limbs were dislocated and badly twisted.

Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Zoe turned to the driver's seat and spotted Jackie.

"Why the hell did I took off my protective riot suit?! Why?!" Jackie complained with the throaty voice.

The American-asian man was still alive, but in the same condition what Rick and Zoe were, maybe even in a bit worse.

Jackie had received some cuts from the sharp-edged shards of the windscreen remains. For excample, he had the bad cut in his left temple and his faces were half-covered from the left side with the blood from the cut in his temple and the another side of his faces were in bruises and scratches as well. The shards had also tore his shirt nearly completely into shreds, worse from his left sleeve and from the skirt, leaving his upper body and his left hand full of the slightly bleeding cuts.

Yet Jackie was holding from his left shoulder with his right hand and the man was gritting his teeth out of pain, as he stood up on his feet.

"Fucking lunatics!" Jackie muttered in pain and in rage.

"Are you okay?" Zoe asked, as she attempted to stretch her hand towards Jackie's left shoulder to see its condition, to which Jackie reacted by stubbornly pulling his shoulder away from Zoe's reach as well as chasing her hands off. This act also caused Jackie to let out the brief growling-like gasp out of pain.

"With the exception of my fucking left hand, I'm in one shape." Jackie responded.

"But I gotta get out of here! I need the space to re-place my arm back to its place!" Jackie added.

Because their van was turned over and was standing on its left side in the ground, meaning that the driver's seat's doorway was blocked by the ground and that the passenger's seat's doorway led to the van's right side that was above of the whole vehicle...

...and because they were expecting the ambush of the Saviors, that were in the hot pursuit on their tails, who would without the hesitation shoot to death anyone who would foolishly dare to step out from the van's wreck, and yet because the van's backside ceiling was tore off by the car thrown by the explosion...

...they needed to get out from the wreck through of the massive open torn hole in the ceiling of the van's backside.

Zoe attempted to help him, but Jackie still stubbornly turned her help down, claiming that he was able to move despite his injured and dislocated arm.

"How's our ex-Savior companion?" Jackie asked from Zoe as they were about top exit from the ruined cabin, even though he seemed to care less that was Rick still alive or dead.

Meanwhile, in the backside of the van's wreck... as Zoe's attention was focused to check Jackie's condition while Rick's attention was focused to pack up the next bag, the Savior who was apparently dead slowly opened his eyes, secretly revealing that he was just knocked out.

The Savior, kept pretenting to be dead to avoid getting spotted and then killed, looked carefully and through of the narrow gap between of his eyelids around of him with his eyes to see that what was happening at the moment.

The first thing He saw in front of him was Rick, who had kneeled down and was at the moment packing into the bags with the van's survived cargo, leaving behind only damaged weapons and the canned food, and kept at the same time him an eye while doing that.

As he saw that Rick was about to look at him to check that was he already awaken, the Savior quickly closed his eyes and pretended to be dead, realizing that at least Rick wasn't convinced of him being apparently dead.

The Savior remained in his false death and kept an eye on Rick, counting in his mind the seconds that how long it took from Rick to focus to checking the condition of their stuff and packing them ino the bags he had nearby before he turned his attention towards him to check that was he really dead or just pretending to be dead.

And after half of minute, the Savior found out that that Rick turned his skeptical look in his direction every five or ten seconds.

And with that information, including taking into account to his dead-like position which the Savior could use as an advantage to fool these people and see more that was happening at the moment around of him, the Savior peeked then next over of the corner of his right eye and spotted Zoe's legs.

And immediately after pretending to be dead again as Rick turned his eyes towards him after ten seconds to check him out, the Savior turned back to Zoe's legs and carefully lifting his head up, seeing Zoe herself standing right neck to him, speaking to someone he was unable to see because of her.

And yet her back was turned to him and her attention was in the somewhere else.

And with that, as Rick was once again about to turn his head towards him, the Savior started pretended dead again.

And after that, the Savior then lowered his eyes looked down of him and saw the knife lying next to his right hand. And carefully lifting his head up, the Savior saw loaded triple-barreled-shotgun lying in the ground next to his legs...

...and before starting pretend dead again, the Savior took the glance from the nearby overturned box and its grenades lying in the ground near of each others... including the four red fuel tanks.

And after Rick had agains turned his eyes away from the Savior, the Savior turned to the left, as spotted that there was the hole in the bottom of the van's backside.

The Savior then peeked out from the hole to see was there anything he could use as an advantage against these three.

And, he saw one such.

The red 1997-2003 Ford F-150 SuperCab XLT mounted with a Browning M2HB machine gun having stopped to the road and his remaining buddies, Ben, Randall, Greg and Michael on board, eyeing the wreck from the road.

The Savior then quickly began to play dead yet again, when Rick turned his eyes at him once again, before Rick then turned back to packing their goods into the bags, and he was nearly finished with the second one.

The Savior then used his last ten seconds to peek at the knife lying next to his right hand and then at Zoe who did not suspect a thing about the danger right behind of her back, then at the triple-barreled-shotgun lying next to his feet, then at the overturned box of grenades and the fuel tanks next to it...

...and finally, his Savior buddies on the road onboard of their vehicle.

And when he had to play dead yet again, the Savior recalled in his mind everything he had saw, forming the simple plan to take all three of them off guard with the non-suspected surprise attack.

The knife on his reach and Zoe right next to him, with her attention away from him and not suspecting anything, it was the perfect opportunity to slash with the knife Zoe's legs from behind and thus making her cripple and unable to escape from his buddies before they'll shoot her to death.

And with triple-barreled-shotgun, the savior thought he could kill at least one of them or maybe two of them before he himself is killed as well, or at least alert his buddies about the survival of these three fugitives and their ability to the the possible resistance against them. It could provoke his buddies to make the counter-attack with the raw power at the wreck... which could lead to an easy victory, if either one or two of these people were dead, and the remaining one is cripple either from the legs or from the dislocated arm, leaving only one to make the last stand against his buddies... with the weapons which do not qualify for any other use than as a melee weapons... which would not be of much help against working firearms.

And, as a backup plan if all fails, the last thing was the commit suicide with the grenades and the fuel tanks, that could take all three of them with him.

"Oh, Rick? He's alive and fine. He's right now packing our goods into the bags so that we can get out of here with everything what we could carry with us." The Savior heard Zoe saying, as the woman was about to turn around and move away from him.

The Savior took this as an opportunity to either slice off Zoe's leg or slash the severe wound to it to make her cripple, before going to the next part of the plan.

It was now or never.

Not caring anymore if he's spotted by Rick, the Savior instantly quit from playing dead and picked the knife from the floor, taking it with his hand to his left side and prepared himself to pull the knife back to right, aiming its blade to Zoe's left leg...

...but instead of slashing with the knife's blade Zoe's leg, the Savior intended to stab with the knife to Zoe's leg, hoping that the stab could reach to Zoe's bone and make even worse damage.

However, as Rick was picking the Heckler & Koch Mark 23 handgun with the silencer from the overturned wall of the van's backside and turned his attention once again to the Savior, he gasped out of shock after he quickly realized that what the Savior was intending to do.

"ZOE! JACKIE! LOOK OUT!" Rick warned, as he quickly lifted the handgun up and aimed with it at the Savior.

And then, Rick fired with it at the Savior.

The shot hit the Savior's right arm...

...and all suddenly and at the same moment happened Rick's warning for both Zoe and Jackie, as well as the gunshot through of the silencer and the Savior's cry out of pain startled both Zoe and Jackie, as their attentions quickly turned from Rick's warning cry and the gunshot to their left from where they heard the throaty cry out of the pain.

And, much to their shock, they saw the Savior, whom Zoe had though to be dead, still alive... and who still attempted to stab Zoe's leg by pulling the knife in his hands towards Zoe's legs, despite the gunshot wound in his knife-holding arm and the burning pain of it.

However, even though they were badly surprised from this suddent event, Zoe and Jackie quickly recovered from their shock and jumped backwards as the Savior swung his knife towards their legs, narrowly managed to avoid their legs to be either stabbed or sliced by the Savior's knife... much to the Savior's anger.

Rick fired at the Savior again, and this time, hitting to under of the Savior's right shoulder, and making the Savior cry out of pain again.

However, stubbornly and fiercely resisting the pain in his shoulder and arm, the Savior then turned his angry and vengeful look at Rick, before he swung his knife-holding arm forward with all strength he had and released his grip from the knife's handle... sending it to fly towards Rick.

The knife, thrown with the sore arm, missed from hitting Rick, but it still managed to slice the small but painful cut to the back of Rick's hand nonetheless, thus causing Rick to let out the throaty yelp out of pain and lreleasing his grip from the gun's handle... dropping it to the ground... and grabbing from his bleeding back of hand with his another hand.

With two others away from him and the third one disarmed, the Savior quickly stood up on his knees and started to crawl towards the triple-barreled-shotgun, stretching his right hand towards the gun to grab it, caring nothing of the soreness of his arm.

However, before the Savior was even able to lay his fingers around of it, Zoe leaped towards the Savior and tackled him down...

...but did not manage to do it in time because the Savior managed to wrap his left hand's fingers around of the weapon and took it with him as he and Zoe started to roll on the van's backside's overturned left wall while wrestling with each others.

Zoe got the upper hand at first, managing to pin the Savior down and started to whack his faces with her fists...

...but after several hard punches, that left the Savior's nose bleeding and caused him to lose some teeth from his mouth, the Savior grabbed from the weapon with two hands and swung its backside towards Zoe... hitting with it to her faces.

The strike from the shotgun's backside to her faces was strong enough that it knocked Zoe off him and aside.

The hard strike also caused Zoe to feel dizzy, which brough some difficulties for her to even try to stand up, leaving her to lie on the overturned wall, moaning in pain and rubbing her left sore cheek.

The Savior, however, attempted to use this as an opportunity to blast Zoe's head with the shotgun, so he quickly wiped the blood off his faces and climbed back on his feet. And after that, he loaded his weapon and aimed it at Zoe's occipital.

However, Rick had meanwhile ignored the wound in the back of his hand and charged at the Savior from behind, and the impact caused the Savior to lift the gun's barrels off Zoe's occipital, after which the Savior pulled the trigger by reflexes, firing the first and loud shot to the overturned van's backside's bottom.

Rick then wrapped one of his right arm around of the Savior's neck and slipping his left arm from beneath of the Savior's left arm, he took the tight grip from his arm and pulled the Savior backwards with all strength he got.

Even though the Savior was quite tall and had a muscular build, Rick's sudden move and to which he hadn't even prepared for, caused the Savior to lean too sharply backwards that caused him to struggle to keep his balance, and during of which, the Savior lifted the shotgun upwards again and fire by reflexes another shot, which nearly hit, but narrowly missed, and knocked Jackie off his feet and over to the overturned van's backside's left wall.

The landing caused Jackie to grit his teeth out of the pain due to his dislocated left arm, causing him to roll in pain in the ground.

And the Savior, despite having Rick hanging on him from behind, lifted his weapon up again in intention to shoot Jackie while the latter was helplessly and unable to defend himself rolling in the pain in the ground...

...only for Zoe to recover in time from the strike to her faces she gave from the Savior's shotgun, to lift her head up and witness that what the Savior was about to do at the moment, roll around of the ground so that she was lying on her back and quickly lifted her right leg upwards into the kick towards the shotgun...

...and the kick was strong enough send the shotgun to fly in the arch towards to Jackie focusing and nothing suspecting Savior that it struck him in the face, knocking him backwards which helped Rick in his desperate attempt to pin him down.

And after the gun had hit the Savior in the face, the Savior pulled the trigger by the reflexes and fired the last shot through the overturned van's backside's right wall.

Now he had used all the shots of the gun, making the weapon partially useless to him.

Meanwhile, while Rick and Zoe were fighting the Savior, Jackie struggled to get up from the ground, and it was very painful process because of his dislocated arm. The pain in his dislocated arm burned him so badly, making Jackie to groan loudly and grit hardly his teeth out of pain, that he failed almost in every time when he even attempted to get to even sit.

However, he eventually succeed to get to sit, and he leaned against the wall that was behind of the driver's seat.

And, ignoring all the pain he had suffered from his various failed attempts to get up from the ground and facing a new ones, Jackie placed his hand to his left shoulder and started to push his arm's bone back to its place.

The process was extremely unpleasant to him.

Every attempt to move his arm to its place sent the burning pain waves all over his body.

And the burning pain waves made him groan, yelp and grit his teeth out of pain.

However, Jackie kept moving his dislocated arm back to its place, ignoring al lthe pain the best he could.

And then, after three attempts...

...Jackie successfully got his dislocated arm back to its place, which send out the nasty-sounding snap that caused Jackie to let put the throaty yelp out of pain.

And after that, Jackie remained to leaning against the wall while holding with his arm from his extremely sore left shoulder and arm when the torturing pain waves took them over, causing his left hand to shake out of the pain.

But, stubbornly ignoring the pain, Jackie lifted his head up to witness his companions fight with the Savior, and cursed the fact that because of his sore arm he was unable to help them in any way.

Meanwhile, during the struggle with Rick, the Savior found out of nowhere a new use for the triple-barreled-shotgun.

He started to use it as a melee weapon.

And the first thing the Savior did the shotgun as a melee weapon, was that he tilted slightly to the left so that Rick slided off his back and remained to hang from him in his left side, that he could get the better aim to Rick with his into the melee-weapon turned fire-arm...

...and then the Savior pulled with raw power his gun's backside to the backwards, stricking Rick to his stomach, making him to yelp out of pain and release his grip from around of Savior's neck and fall on his knees to the ground, gasping for the air and holding with both of his hands from his stomach.

The Savior turned around and lifted his weapon up as an attempt to crush Rick's skull when he was lying on his knees unable to defend himself.

However, Zoe took an advantage of this and quickly stood up on her feet from the ground and bounced towards the Savior, wrapping her arms around of the Savior's neck from his right side and remained to hang from the Savior's by the same way as Rick did.

However, the Savior brutally struck Zoe to her stomach with his shotgun's backside, causing Zoe to gasp out of pain she felt in her stomach and make her to let go from the Savior and fell roughly on his back to the ground, that it pushed some breath out of her.

And as Zoe remained to lie on her back in the ground, panting for the breath, the Savior attempted to squeeze Zoe's head against the ground with the brutal force and the backside of the shotgun.

However, while the Savior was preparing to kill Zoe...

Rick, who had partially recovered from the hard strike to his stomach behind of the Savior's back, had spotted Michonne's katana lying in front of him and within the reach of his hands.

Rick looked back at the Savior, whose full attention was focused to Zoe and attempted to crush in pain in the ground lying Zoe's head with the backside of the triple-barreled-shotgun, and then he looked back to Michonne's sword.

And thinking quickly, Rick picked Michonne's sword into his hands...

...and before the Savior could even do his fatal strike on Zoe...

...Rick leaned to his left that he was about to fall on his left side in the ground, during of which he swung Michonne's katana's long blade towards the Savior's legs and managed to cut the deep cuts behind of the Savior's shins.

The Savior roared in pain he felt in his shins, before his injured legs failed him under of his weight and the Savior fell on his left side to the ground in between of Rick and Zoe, gritting his teeth and still groaning out of pain.

The Savior then lifted his head up, ignoring most of the pain in his legs, and spotted the grenades and the fuel tanks right in front of him.

It was a time of the last part of his plan.

The Savior started to hurriedly crawl towards the fuel tanks and the explosives...

...which was not left unnoticed by Rick, who quickly realized that what the Savior was about to do!

"HE TRIES TO BLOW US UP! STOP HIM!" Rick shouted, and he quickly crawled up.

Recovered Zoe, having heard Rick's warnings and looking at the Savior heading towards the fuel and the grenades, this realizing the Savior's intentions, hurriedly climbed back to her feets and jumped on the Savior's back, attemting to pin him down and prevent him to reach to the grenades.

However, the Savior's large size and his muscular build was too strong for Zoe and the Savior kept crawling towards the explosives.

To prevent him from even touching the grenades, Zoe picked the knife from the ground and started to stab with it for various times to the Savior's back to cause various bleeding and yet fatal wound that would eventually slow down the Savior and eventually kill him to the stabbing wounds.

However, even though the Savior let out from his mouth various throaty yelps out of pain in each stab he got into his back, he kept resisting the pain in his back from Zoe's knife and kept crawling towards the grenades.

Zoe did everything she could to keep the Savior away from the grenades, trying to pin him down with her weight and kepot stabbing him to the back... but, however, she was too light to keep the bigger and heavier Savior down, who had started to use both of his hands to grab from something and pull himself along the ground and closer to the grenades.

And when he was close enough to reach at least to one of the grenades, the one that was lying in of his reach, the Savior stretched his right hand forward as an attempt to grab the grenade into his hand... and he also stretched out his left hand towards it to pull the grenade's safety pin off the grenade to make it, as well as the rest of the grenades and the fuel tanks in the proceed, to explode within the vehicle and kill all four of them...

...Jackie, who had partially recovered from the pain in his sore arm after having placed it back into its place and had rushed to Rick's and Zoe's aid!

Jackie reached to the Savior as he was so close to reach with his hand to the grenade.

And just as the Savior was about to wrap his dirty fingers around of the grenade and moved his left hand closer to of it, attempting to grab from the grenade's safety pin to pull it off, to prevent the Savior to do what he was attempting to do that could kill them all, Jackie lifted his right leg up and then he landed his leg down onto the Savior's stretched arm with all the weight and strength Jackie got into his leg.

The Savior let out the loud cry out of pain as Jackie's hand landed onto his arm, but even though Jackie got all his strength and weight into it, it was not enough to break his arm...

And the Savior, refusing to give up and stubbornly refusing to die in the hands of the trio, the Savior still tried to reach with his left hand to the grenade's safety pin and pull it off to kill all of them at once.

However, he immediately received the fiery kick to his faces from Jackie's right leg's shoe, which broke the Savior's nose and caused the Savior's upper body to bent backwards, helding support from the ground with his undamaged remaining left hand.

The Savior, with the broken and onto his faces bleeding nose, snarled angrily at Jackie for what he just did.

Thinking quickly, the Savior spotted the machene lying in the ground and next to his left arm.

And then the Savior, ignoring Zoe still hanging on his back while she kept stabbing him to his back, forget the grenade for a while and stood up on his feet and grabbed to the machete's handle, as an attempt to sink the machete's long blade into Jackie's stomach to kill him.

"OH, NO, YOU DON'T!" Rick cried from aside as he attacked the Savior to his left flank, holding Michonne's katana in his hands.

Rick swung Michonne's katana towards the Savior's left arm and managed to slash the deep cut above of the Savior's elbow, and proceed to make another long and deep cut to the Savior's left side, causing the Savior to let out again the cry out of agony and he dropped the machete out of his hands before he managed to hurt Jackie with it.

The Savior tried to take the support from the ground with his hand, but his wounded arm was shaking, unable to carry his bleeding body's weight, and he fell back on his stomach to the ground.

Zoe then took as the next target for the blood-covered knife in her had the Savior's left calf, stabbing two times the knife's blade to deep into the flesh that it nearly made it to the bone. This caused the Savior to let out the another cry out of pain as he fell onto his wounded left side to the ground when the wounded leg failed under of his weight.

The Savior was now at their mercy.

And to ensure that the Savior wouldn't make any other attempts to get up and reach to the grenades, now when he had been severely wounded, Rick lifted Michonne's sword above of his head and attempted to land it onto the Savior's wounded left hand to chop it off.

But, however, despite having the bad and bleeding cuts in above of his elbow and in his left side from Michonne's sword in Rick's hands, along with the numerous burning and bleeding stabbing wounds in his back and the left calf from Zoe's knife, the Savior still fiercely and stubbornly resisted against the waves of pain he felt in his left arm, in his left side, in his left calf and in his back.

And with that, grinting his teeth when he fought against the pain, he climbed on his knees and pulled his right hand off from under of Jackie's leg, before his brutally struck his right hand's elbow against Jackie's stomach, making him to let put the throaty gasp from the impact of the Savior's elbow against his stomach, which also knocked him over on his back to the ground.

The Savior was then about to move quickly for Rick, but he did it too late as Rick already chopped his left hand off with Michonne's sword.

Ignoring the pain in his left arm, the Savior squeezed his right hand's fingers into fist and punched with it hard to Rick's faces, knocking him roughly over on his right side to the ground and aside.

And then, the Savior swung his right hand's elbow back to the right and behind of him, and his elbow managed successfully - or because of the mere luck - to catch Zoe off guard and hit her into her faces, knocking her over on her back to the ground in behind of the Savior, leaving her knife to remain in the Savior's shoulder.

And after all three of them were out of his way, the Savior then reached to the grenade and grabbed it into his hand.

But, because she had lost his hand, thanks to Rick and his the long knife - and that the Savior started to feel himself a bit tired and dizzy due to the wounds he had received and the blood loss, whuch told to the Savior that he had no much time before he himself will be taken by the death - the Savior started to move the grenade's safety pin towards his mouth, attempting to remove it with his teeth.

However, he was soon attacked by both Jackie and quickly from the hit to her faces recovered Zoe, who leaped onto him in attempt to prevent him from triggering the grenade and take it away from his hand!

Jackie went for the grenade in the Savior's hand with his right arm, though it was still a bit sore, and wrapped his another arm over of the Savior's left shoulder, while Zoe wrapped her right arm tightly around of the Savior's neck, afther she pulled her knife outta the Savior's shoulder and started to stab the Savior to his stomach with it.

Fighting against the pain from the numerous stabs to his stomach, the Savior struggled fiercely and stubbornly back against both Jackie's and Zoe's tight grip around of his upper body and in attempt to get the grenade's safety pin between of his teeth to trigger it and blow himself up, along with Zoe and Jackie...

...but for now, he squeezed his fingers around of the grenade and straightened his arm forward, in an attempt to keep Jackie's hands away from the grenade and he also pushed him back with both of his right shoulder and with his back, while he attempted to keept with his bleeding and amputated hand Zoe away from him...

...and with the quick and briefly lasting moves, the Savior attempted for the few times to rid himself from Zoe and Jackie by punched Zoe into her faces with his fist that was squeezed around of the grenade and hit with his arm's elbow to Jackie's stomach.

However, the duo stubbornly fought back the pain as the Savior did.

"Give me that grenade, you fucking idiot!" Jackie barked, as he attempted to reach to the grenade.

"Sure! Just let me to pull the fucking safety pin off from it and you'll have your fucking share from it!" The Savior barked back!

The Savior then started to move the grenade towards his mouth to place the safety pin between of his teeth.

And upon the realizing this, Jackie didn't anymore tried to reach to the grenade but instead he grabbed to the Savior's arm with the both of his hands and started to pull it away from the Savior's mouth... and Zoe started to twist the knife in the Savior's current wound to make it more fatal wound, making the Savior to grit his teeth out of pain but at the same time stubbornly trying to ignore it.

However, despite their best efforts and the Savior's wounds and to the certain death leading fatal state, the Savior managed to get the grenade's safety pin even closer and closer his mouth, no matter how hard Jackie attempted to push his arm backwards.

Jackie then noticed the very same machete, with what the Savior had tried to use to kill him, and quickly thinking the solution to this narrow situation between of the chances of preventing the explosion and surviving from the explosion...

"Fine! Then I have to take it with the hard way!" Jackie said, as he released his right hand's grip from the Savior's arm, leaving his left had to desperately keep pulling the Savior's grenade-holding hand backwards.

Jackie them stretched his hand towards the machete's handle to grab to it, so that he could use it to chop the Savior's grenade-holding arm off before he could put it into his mouth.

He was so close to reach to it...

...and Zoe still kept stabbing the Savior with her knife to weaken him even more.

However, the Savior noticed that both of Jackie's and Zoe's attentions were elsewhere than in his faces, which fit as an perfect advantage for him to take them both out by surprise now when they have let their guard down!

And so, the Savior turned his head at first to Zoe's direction and quickly spit into her faces.

The Savior's spit landed quickly and unexpectedly to Zoe's right eye, that this unxpected - yet disgusting - counter-attack successfully caught Zoe off guard and forced her to release her grip from her knife and the Savior and retreat backwards to wipe the spit off her faces.

And when Zoe was out of the way, the Savior then turned his attention to Jackie's arm, which was still reaching over his left shoulder and holding from the Savior's grenade holding hand as Jackie kept pushing his arm and the grenade away from the Savior's mouth.

So the Savior forget the grenade for a while and turned to Jackie's arm, opening his mouth and closed his teeth around of Jackie's arm, bitting down so hard that blood began to drain out of his mouth from the wounds his teeth caused to Jackie's arm.

The feel of the pain that came from his arm in between of the Savior's teeth and the hard bite made Jackie gritted his teeth before he let out of his mouth the loud and painful cry, even though it wasn't the walker's bite.

Forgetting the machete for a while, Jackie himself straightened up on his knees, grabbed from the Savior's shoulder and forcefully pulled his arm off from between of the Savior's teeth, leaving his bite mark as the ring of slightly bleeding teeth marks on his arm.

The Savior then turned back to peek over his right shoulder to look at Jackie, who was holding his bite wound in the left arm with his hand.

"Isn't it... isn't it infected by the... by the dead fuck's spittle, fucker? Huh? Such... such of pity, that... that I wasn't... wasn't one of those... those dead fucks... yet!" The Savior, panting from the exhaustion from the numerous wounds Zoe caused to him with the knife, taunted Jackie...

...before he pulled his arm to the left and swung his elbow back to the right and struck hard with it to Jackie's stomach, making Jackie to gasp from the pain and made him to slightky bow down to hold his from the hard impact sore stomach.

The Savior proceed by hardening the grip of his fingers around of the grenade and swung his fist upwards, brutally punching Jackie straight to his faces as he was in the bowing position - causing at the same time some blood (along with a couple teeth) to fly out from Jackie's mouth and nose - and sent him to fly over and on his right side to the ground.

Billy was left to lie in the ground on his back, with both of his nose and mouth slightly bleeding and as bit dizzy from the hard punch.

And, after both Jackie and Zoe were out of his way, the Savior turned to the rest of the van's grenades and the fuel tanks and attempted to fulfill his goal by finally and without adversity to place the grenade's safety pin between of his teeth and pull it off to explode everyone within the wrecked van.

However, Jackie, quickly ignoring the still painfully itchy bite wound in his arm and his bleeding nose, quickly reached and successfully grabbed to the handle of the machete, before he then lifted it up and above of his head and then swung it towards the Savior's right arm to chop it off, as his last attempt to prevent the Savior to blow them all up to the sky!

However, as he was so close to chop off the Savior's arm, Savior suddenly and completely unexpectedly let out the painful throaty cry out of his mouth that startled Jackie and got him to turn his full attention from chopping off his arm to his faces...

...but Jackie didn't halt his machete but allowed his from the machete's handle holding hand and the machete freely to fall down towards the Savior's arm.

However, as the Savior started to cry out of the pain, he straightened up on his knees and pulled by reflexes his grenade holding hand out of the way of Jackie's machete, timely avoiding it's blade, and leaving the machete's blade to swing the empty air.

However, Jackie's machete's blade's tip managed to partially slice off some flesh from the Savior's arm from beneath of his wrist, causing the Savior to loose his firm grib from the grenade and eventually drop it to the ground.

Jackie's machete's blade kept falling straight down, until it sunk deep into the Savior's right shin, reaching to the bone.

The Savior then stopped his painful crying but started instead to grit his teeth in pain and let the throaty sounds out of his mouth as some blood started to drain out of his mouth.

Zoe, who had already managed to wipe off the Savior's spit out of her faces, followed this from aside!

Both Jackie and Zoe eyed the suffering Savior, until they landed their eyes a bit down from the Savior's head and noticed that there was the long blood-covered katana's blade thrusted through of the Savior's upper body, with its blood-covered tip coming out from the Savior's right side.

Jackie and Zoe followed then with their eyes down the blade to its handle, until they completely locked their eyes to Rick's last location, seeing Rick standing on his knees behind of the Savior and holding with both of his hands from the katana's two-handled handle, revealing to them the reason to the Savior's sudden cry out of pain.

Rick then pulled the blood-covered katana outta the Savior's flesh, allowing the Savior's badly mutilated body to fell into limp, as his arms fell to hang from his shoulders, and the Savior's body eventually fell on its stomach to the ground and next to the grenades and the fuel tanks.

And after the loud thump against the ground, the Savior remained to lie in the ground, completely motionless.

The awkward silence then fell upon the victorious trio and the supposedly dead Savior's corpse.

The trio then locked their eyes to the Savior's motionless body and remained to look at it for a while.

"Is that fucking son of a bitch... dead?" Zoe asked from the others.

Neither Jackie nor Rick answered to this.

For a couple and half of a minute, they kept looking at the Savior's badly mutilated and supposedly dead body with the suspicious looks in their faces, a bit expecting him still living, despite from his mortal wound, and rise again from the ground...

...because even though the Savior was mortally wounded by their hands during of their struggle for the possession over the grenades and he was not wearing any protective gear to protect him from receiving a new fatal strikes from the trio, the Savior had still stubbornly and fiercely fought back against the pain, the certain death and all three of them at the same time.

However, soon, Rick broke the silence.

"We have no time for this. There's still the Saviors outside of the wrecked van, and we need to gather everything what we can carry with us and get out of here before they reach here." Rick said, as he cleaned Michonne's sword from the Savior's blood and placed it back to the sheath, which he placed to hang on his back... so that he could later to hand it back to Michonne once he finds him.

Rick then took his Colt Python revolver from the ground and placed it back to its own sheath in his belt. And he also picked from the ground his ax, which he placed to hang from his belt in the right side of his waist.

"Zoe, you start to pack the remaining bags with the food and ammo, while I'll keep watch from the back." Rick said, as he tossed two empty bags to Zoe, who immediately brough them close to the boxes, in which they kept their canned foods, bottles of water, medical supplies and some extra ammunition and started to pack them into the bags.

And then, Rick turned to Jackie... though before he managed to say a single word, Rick's attention was caught by the injuries from the sharp-edged or -pointed shards of windscreen and the Savior's teeth... not to mention about that he had overheard Jackie's left arm getting dislocated from the rough ride from the road to the forest.

"Jackie, I need you to watch Zoe's back while she's packing the bags, from both of the cabin and the giant hole in the ceiling, in case if the Saviors try to surround us, while I'll keep watch in the rear side's doors." Rick said.

"But then when it's time to run away from here, are you capable to carry the fully filled bag or hold even the handgun with your arm? Or do we need to check your wounds on your hand and put it in the carrier?" Rick added

Jackie let out of his mouth the loud and yet a bit from Rick's question offended snort

"Listen, prick! Do not underestimate the Street dogs abilities to do the things, even though they might have the flesh in their arms in shreds from the sharp-edged and -pointed shards of the broken windscreen, their limbs dislocated and extremely sore after being placed back to their place or their arms and legs full of the nasty and bloody bite marks from the teeth of nasty dogs and the fucking Savior!"

"I once got my legs badly hurt from the bites, claws and fangs of three nasty wild dogs, while got surrounded by those undead _monstrosities_ , but albeit badly wounded, half-cripple, outnumbered and with no ammo, and I still managed to kill the wild dogs and all _abominations_ around of me with ease. I survived from that experience, and why? Because I followed the Street dogs three laws: _Every dog takes care only for themselves_ , _Fight and live or don't and die_ , and _Scars and pain makes you even stronger and tougher_! And among of our rules is also the one, which you have already witnessed us to adhere firmly back in that house before the firefight... _DO NOT TRUST TO ANYBODY, NEITHER EVEN FULLY TO YOUR OWN FRIENDS!_ Every Street dog among us must adhere to these vital rules to learn to take care of ourselves and to survive on their own without anyone's help, even if they are in the verge of death, if they wish to survive! Yet there is no place among of us for the weaker and softie ones. Even one of us who is either of these two things, makes us all weaker. By following these vital rules while moving in our territory with those everyday undead _abominations_ around claiming the weak ones as well as do our enemies, we'll erase all the softness and weakness from our ranks to make ourself both physically and mentally stronger and tougher to survive through of this fucking New-World-Order... _you kill or you die, or you die and you kill_. So, if you want to prove us that you're not with them, then don't you worry about my wounds but focus rather to do your own part of guarding duty." Jackie said with the firm and a bit rude tone...

...before he then picked from the ground into his arms a couple of Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser" shotguns into his hands and settled into the watch, aiming with both of his weapons through of the entrance to the van's cabin and to the hole of the ceiling of the van's backside.

However, the weight of the shotgun in his wounded and apparently sore arm made Jackie to grin his teeth in pain, and he seemed to be unable to lift the weapon into the same level with the another shotgun he held in his right hand.

However, Jackie stubbornly ignored the pain in his left wounded arm, though because of the Saviors, he was forced to lay his wounded arm onto his left knee, so that he got a bit better aiming with it.

"I'll shall show those motherfuckers that even wounded dog can bite back and very hard!" Jackie said, as he stood to watch the remaining bags packing Zoe's back with the shotguns, ready to blast anyone who dared to come near of them with the hostile intentions.

Rick had to grant it to Jackie, that he and his people were mentally iron and physically as psychologically strong and determined survivors, among of which the weakness, softness, fear and arrogance had no place.

Whatever traumatic event they have experienced in the hands of the Saviors, which has triggered their bitterness, despise and burning hatred towards Negan and his the Saviors, including strengtening their distrust towards the outsiders of their people...

...Rick already saw very invaluable allies from the Street dogs, through of Jackie and Zoe, for all of their common cause... to rid the world off from Negan and the Saviors and create the better world and the future for their peoples... including to avenge all their loved ones horrible deaths at the hands of the Saviors.

However, Rick needed to get alive to meet their leeader, so that he could negotiate with Jackie's (and Billy's) father and the leader of their people, and and persuade him and his people to join his and his own people's side for the common cause... the End and the Downfall of the Saviors.

Rick of course knew that it would not be easy task to presuade the Street dogs to join to his side into the upcoming war against the Saviors, no matter how common were their goals and the causes for the long-awaited liberation from the Saviors tyrannical rule and from all the sufferings they have both experienced during of the slavery under of the Saviors rule.

However, for the better future without Negan and the Saviors, Rick had no other choice but just try his best and then just be satisfied with that answer what he gets from the Street dogs.

And with that, Rick turned to the rear gap, where the vehicles rear doors used to be, and aimed his Colt Python revolver towards the gap, ready to shoot anyone who even attempted to either pass the rear doors or peek inside.

However, once everybody's attentions were elsewhere, the Savior, who was supposed to be dead after receiving so many fatal strikes, until he apparently got killed by Rick after thrusting Michonne's sword through of his upper body fatally wounding him, started to weakly and slowly move his fingers.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Fourteenth** **cliffhanger...**

 **Rick, Zoe and Jackie had survived from the brutal struggle with the Savior within the van, but they're still surrounded by four remaining and armed Saviors, and not to mention about the Savior, whom they just apparently killed, and who still moved his fingers in spite of everything... without anybody from the trio even noticing this happening.**

 **What will happen next, we'll see it the next time.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya in the next time.**


	15. Chapter 15: Alpha Dog

**CHAPTER 15: ALPHA DOG**

With her dogs guarding her back from the rest of Billy's a new crew whom still wanted to stop her, still for Michonne's spit on her faces furious Megan continued on her way towards in the air between of the posts anf from the chains around of her wrists hanging Michonne.

And along the way, Megan had grabbed Bob's pair of Mossberg 590 Compact Cruisers from his sheaths - not willing to waste her own shotguns ammo - and lifted them to the feet of the Street dogs that were pulling from the chains that were tied around of Michonne's wrists and kept Michonne up in the air.

And then, Megan pressed the triggers and fired the shots to the chains pulling people's feet.

The shotguns shots sharp impact against the ground, nearly next to their feet, startled the Street dogs so badly that they jumped backwards and they released their firm grips from the chains in the process.

And as an result of this, Michonne to fall roughly on her stomach to the ground like some kind of limp rag doll after the brutal beating which Michonne had already experienced from Megan's punches.

Michonne let out the slight moan in the pain after she landed on her stomach to the ground.

And ignoring the fact that how weak she was from the brutal beating from Megan, she tried to get up on her feet... which was in her state a slow process.

Throwing Bob's shotguns away, along with a couple spotlights out of her way and over to the ground, Megan walked behind of Michonne and decided to use her weak state and her with the chains tied arms as an advantage to gain her revenge...

...as she kneeled down and grabbed firmly and painfully from Michonne's hair and her right shoulder, making Michonne to grit her teeth in pain.

"GET UP, BITCH!" Megan angrily snarled, as she roughly forced Michonne to get up from the ground and roughly pressed him on her kneels to the ground.

And after that, Megan grabbed to the the chains, pulled them off from the top of the posts for the another use.

Megan took the chain, that was tied around of Michonne's left wrist and tied most of it tightly around of the post in Michonne's left side, after which Megan did the very same thing with the chain tied around of Michonne's right wrist and did not save the chain.

And because of this, Michonne felt like two crowds were brutally dragging her from her arms into two directions with her in half tearing force, like in the tug of war-game, which caused her to moan loudly out of the burning pain in her wrists and arms.

And once having ensured that Michonne stayed still, Megan moved in front of her and took out her big wrench, which another end was covered by the blood, from her bent and kept staring down at Michonne, helding the blood-covered end of the wrench close of Michonne's faces with the vicious grin in her own faces like she was intending to crush her skull with it.

"Uncomfortable, eh? Aww... GOOD!" Megan said sharply, taunting Michonne's feeling of pain and her apparently uncomfortable stance.

However, even though her wrists and arms hurted like the hell, and Megan was threatening to crush her skull with her blood-covered wrench, Michonne did her best to keep her cool while panting from the pression of the pain and staring fearlessly at towards for her incoming certain death.

Megan also saw Michonne's fearless expression on her faces as she stared alternately at her and then at her own weapon in choice...

...and decided to at first lift its bloody end next to Michonne's faces before smashing her skull with it.

"Interested of my little toy, aren't you?" Megan asked darkly, as she intentionally moved her wrench's blood-covered head's side roughly against Michonne's right cheek and moved it down along Michonne's cheek, leaving onto her cheek the line of half-dry blood... implying the fact that Megan had probably killed someone with it the short of time ago.

Megan then suddenly grabbed from Michonne's throat, wrapping her fingers firmly around of it and squeezing them together, capturing most of Michonne's throat within her squeezing fingers and blocking the respiratory tract within Michonne's throat...

...causing Michonne to at first gasp out of shock of this sudden act, before Michonne started to let out of her mouth the throaty sounds as well as cough viciously as she tried to desperately get some air.

And because of her into thight pulled bounds around of her wrists that kept her in the air between of the posts... she wasn't able to struggle against Megan's nearly squeeze around of her respiratory tract... leaving her completely at the mercy of this enraged foolish woman.

"Such of pitty that were not facing each others in the Street dogs arena, I would love to see that how fierce you actually are as Billy described you and eventually smash your pretty skull to inside in the much fair fight indeed. However, I took yoiu down because I didn't want to smash your brains out like from somekind of hanging fucking Piñata, from which I can smash the skull and break the thoracic bones with my wrench too easily and without your ability to resitst it... however, executing you like this is perfect enough... even though executing the Savior in this way, while he or she's pathetically pleading for mercy from the Street dog while being at our mercy, is _MUCH... MORE... TASTEFUL_!" Megan declared tauntingly and eagerly with the impatient desire to kill Michonne right now as an retribution for the bite wound in her hand.

And then, Megan swung her from her weapon-in-choice's handle holding arm behind of her head as she prepared to land its head with the full brutal force into Michonne's head to crush her skull inside.

And as the vengeful and enraged woman pulled her wrench over of his head and as being about to smash Michonne's skull with it...

...Michonne used her the last moments to brace herself to the same slow and painful fate which Abraham and Glenn experienced in the hands of Negan.

...but mostly...

...Michonne's eyes was suddenly filled with the several warm common memories of her together with Rick, Carl and Judith.

Her and Rick's first met at the fence of the Prison, when she, after being hunted and shot to the leg by certain asshole, limped to there to bring the baby formula for Judith, and when both he and Carl saved her from the certain death... though it was an reluctant act and just because of that baby formula as Rick confirmed it later.

Her travel with both of them to Rick's and Carl's old home town to gather the weapons and ammunations to defend themselves against the Governor's attack, during of which she had helped Carl to retrieve the picture of her mother from that bar in order to one day show to Judith what Lori looked like, gaining Carl's trust.

The moment she informed to Rick that she knew about his mental problems with the tragic death of his wife Lori and comforting him by telling that she also had some own mental problems like talking "with" her a long time ago dead boyfriend Mike.

The moment between of her and Rick in the cell block, just before Woodbury's final attack to the prison, when she forgave Rick for considering The Governor's offer and nearly surrendering her to him for the false peace... including her thanking him for allowing her into the group and Rick gently informing to her that, due to Carl's opinion, she was officially one of them.

Their happy reunion on the day when she came back riding on her now-dead horse Flame to the Prison after her another failed attempt to find the Governor to avenge Andrea's death in his hands, and at the same time bringing some souvenirs for both Carl and Rick, some comics for Carl and a razor for Rick, with the joke that "His face is losing the war."

Her first official encounter with Rick's baby Judith, whose presence, sweetness and innocence managed to break through of her mental walls and got her to gently embrace the baby and even to make her break in tears as the good old memories of her late son, Andre, and the moment of losing him filled her mind.

*Her another happy reunion with Rick and Carl, after she had found them from taking the shelter from the house in the abandoned town after returned Governor's final attack to the prison, causing its downfall and overrun, plus the complete destruction of the entire remaining population within the prison, including the Governor's entire army, and Hershel's tragic death... Michonne remembered how Carl, once he had opened the house's door and saw her standing behind of it, had rushed to her to give her a big hug, happy to see her alive after the massacre of the prison, to which Michonne had happily answered by hugging Carl back.

Her joyful milk and grains breakfast with Carl in the house's dining room in the next morning after their reunion.

Her and Carl's compet in a bet to see who can walk on the rails the longest without falling off, against the candy bar as a prize, which she lose by falling off from the rail after she failed to try scare Carl off the rail to win the bet.

Her moment with Carl before entering to Terminus, when she with the motherly tone comforted him and encouraged him not to be scared of his father, after the boy was mentally shocked from the last tragic night, when he nearly got raped by one of Joe-guy's bandits when they ambushed them on the road and attempted to kill both Rick and to them re-joined Daryl and rape her and Carl as an retribution for Rick killing one of them back in the house where they had invaded, only to be themselves got out of surprised by them and quickly and rather brutally killed one by one after they were distracted by Rick ripping off Joe's jugular and finished the fight by brutally stabbing and mutilating Carl's raper to death despite his pathetic pleads for mercy.

And at the same moment, her finally revealing to Carl the tragic fate of her son, her late boyfriend Mike and his friend Terry, to whom she had entrusted her son's safety while she's gon on a supply run, until they had failed due to camp being overrun by walkers and they were both bitten and dying, yet left to die and reanimate by her out of rage and sorrow... and later turning them into her pets as an punishment for letting her son to die... but also as a punishment for herself for not being there to protect her son... Remembering herself yet telling to Carl that that tragic event and her actions had imprisoned her for a long time within her stone-hard mental prison, until her friendship with Andrea, and even closer friendship with Rick and Carl had eventually freed her from that prison and allowed her true self to breath freely the air and feel and have emotions.

Her little chit chat with Rick when they were bringing the food and other supplies from the abandoned town back to Gabriel's church where they had settled for while after saving and meeting Gabriel, telling to Rick, who had asked if she misses her sword which she had lost to the cannibalistic people in Terminus, that she misses the people whom they had lost, Andrea and Hershel, but not her katana.

The moment after meeting the first time Aaron and Eric in the woods, who had managed to convince them to come with them to Alexandria Safe-Zone, when she had gently attempted to convince from his distrust towards Aaron and Eric back then and for their group's safety troubled Rick to let go of his worries... and the moment when they for the very first time arrived to Alexandria Safe-Zone's gates, gently landing her arm over Rick's arm in the wheel and asking from him that is he ready to embrace what is in the another side of the walls.

Their moment before one night's meeting - which concerned of that day's previous day's events when Rick had got into the violent fight with the alexandrian Pete Anderson and openly protested with the gunpoint the alexandrians from the outside world's "true life" sheltered life-style before she knocked him out to prevent the situation to go from bad to worse - when Rick confessed of stealing the gun from the armory from the armory, and when she said to Rick that they will find a way through the situation and asking with gentle voice him to stay out of trouble... adding yet that she's still with him if they do not find the way during the meeting.

The moment with Carl two months after purging the Safe-Zone from the herd of walkers, rebuilding Alexandria and from Carl's recover from his nearly lethal gunshot wound that claimed his right eye, when she chastised Carl for risking his life by leading zombified Deanna around when she was looking for her with Spencer, until Carl explained that he did it because it felt to right to allow Spencer, as one who loved Deanna, to put Deanna out of her misery... but she was deeply touched that Carl added that he would do the same thing for her... as well as she would do the same thing to him.

The tears ran along of Michonne cheeks as her heart was warmed by the fact, that her and Carl's close friendship had turned during of their time in Alexandria into close and loving mother-and-son relationship... along with the fear that she would not see Carl nor Judith ever again after this.

And the warm unforgetable moment with Rick at that very same night when they shared the couch of the living room of their shared home, both of them laughing when Rick handed to her mints instead of toothpaste she requested earlier on that day and which Rick admited loosing it into the bottom of the lake... with their night ending up by from grasping from each others hands into the kissing each other... sealing their relationship and living it happily...

...until their relationship found odds when they were forced under of the rule and the slavery of Negan and his Saviors after they killed Glenn and Abraham.

The moment in the cell of Alexandria the following night after the Saviors second raid-like visit, during of which they killed Spencer and right after Olivia and took Eugene with them after Rosita's failed attempt to assassinate Negan in front of everybody...when she attempted to convince Rick to fight back the Saviors instead of surrendering to them, despite them being heavily outnumbered, for the better future for Judith, Carl, Alexandria, and the Hilltop, to which Rick, much to her tearful delight, firmly agreed and the moment ended up of them strenghtening their relationship with the kiss.

**The moment before she and Rick left to gather the weapons for Jadis and her scavengers to fulfill their part of the deal of having the scavengers as their allies in the war against Negan, when she had found Rick from their home's living room telling to Carl how to act if the Saviors pays the surprising visit in Alexandria while they're gone... _Give them what they want... for the one last time_. Michonne remembered overhearing Carl questioning Rick about cutting off his arm with the axe like Negan had earlier nearly forced him to do, successfully breaking Rick, back there in the forest after Abraham and Glenn were murdered... and even asking if Rick could do it now if it could happen again. Michonne remembered herself entering to the room with them and forbidding with the motherly but firmly tone Carl from speaking and even thinking about anything like it, and yet reminding both him and Rick that that happened only because they weren't prepared for the Saviors unlike what they are now, yet addding... _And there's nothing left but beating them, but winning this, making them regret they ever crossed us just before they die. Don't fantasize about failing. Put everything into winning and we'll make it real_... and after agreeing this with both vital people in her life, she had gave to Carl the motherly hug and kiss to his forehead before leaving with Rick to _get their army_.

The moment when she and Rick spent their romantic a candlelit dinner inside the abandoned school gymnasium in the next of the carneval area, where they had been talking about the impending war with the Saviors and post-war coming events, with her urging Rick to lead all the joined communities after Negan is defeated, with Rick proposing her to be by his side when they reorder things together, which she had willingly and due to her love for him accepted... ending up to the kiss.

And their final common moment before she and Rick found themselves in the unwanted conflict with the Street dogs, when she comforted Rick when he mourned Glenn's death and the moment when he saved him from the certain death but he couldn't save him from Negan. And when she herself was yet dealing with her sorrowful shock when she nearly lost Rick to the walkers, Rick warned her about the losses they're gonna face in the war against Negan, which could possible include the loss of each other, but he also reminded her that it will be worth it, because it's not about them anymore but about the future. Michonne then finally remembered the moment when Rick asked her to lead if he's the one who will not survive, which she due to her unwillingess to lose Rick reluctantly accepted.

But now when she was here as a prisoner of the Street dogs, and in the verge of death, yet been either confessed or established - though without any evidences - that Rick had been killed by the walkers, Michonne slowly lost the remainder of her willingess to live.

"Any last words?" Megan taunted, as she prepared to swung the wrench down onto Michonne's skull.

Michonne slowly closed her eyes, letting the another wave of tears to run down her cheek, preparing to embrace her fate.

"Rick." Michonne whispered the name of the man she loved with her final breaths, hoping to meet Rick once again in death if he actually was dead.

Considering that as her last words, Megan then swung her wrench down towards Michonne's head.

But, however, before the wrench's blood-covered head even reached to Michonne's head...

...until there was heard the sharp and in the room's air space - and painfully in Michonne's ears - echoing sound of metal's impact against metal, which came from Megan's wrench at the moment when the metallic tool was only a inch from her faces, as if something had just hit against the wrench before it could land with the killing force against Michonne's faces.

Something like, bullet, as there was heard the loud gunshot before it was followed by sharp and echoing sound of metallic bullet's impact against the wrench's metal.

The bullet's impact against the blood-covered metal toy caused some sparks, that provoked Meegan with the badly startled yelp to release her grip from her weapon in choice, as well as releasing her firm and squeezing grip from Michonne's throat, and take a few steps backwards away from Michonne.

But at the same time as she did so, the bullet's speed and power of the impact knocked sent the metallic toy to fly out of her reach, thus saving Michonne's life.

"WHATTA FUCK?!" Megan yelped as he grabbed with her free hand from her a moment ago from the wrench holding hand, that was burning from the heat the bullet's impact against her wrench had caused.

Shortly after that, there was heard two of a low-sounding and spitting-like sounds, which were followed by the couple of dog-like yelps out of pain behind of Megan back, catching her full attention away from both her burning hand and Michonne.

By her instincts and concern for her dogs, Megan quickly turned around to see that what had happened or who had dared to hurt her dogs,

And after having turned around to see her dogs, she saw that her American Pit Bull Terrier and Tosa Inu were lying on their sides on the ground, motionless and silent like the rocks and with the red tranquilize darts behind of their necks.

Billy, Two Ton, Chevalier Lumière, Buster, Dr. Joshua, Tito Jamie, Dotty Spotty and Angel were still standing in there where Meegan's dogs had forced the, to stay, while Bob and Dodger Jamie crawled from beneath of Meegan's dogs limp bodies and rose on their feet.

None of them wielded tranquilize weapon in their hands, which were all within Meegan's eye sight rather than behind of their backs hiding from her something, which is the reason to the darts in her dogs necks...

...but their looks were completely in elsewhere rather than in her.

However, seeing her dogs lying limp in the ground and due to her already triggered fury within her provoked Meegan to take out her Glock 19 pistols, which she lifted up and fired over the rest of the group a couple shots to gain their attention, so that he could be able to question them about her dogs states with a gunpoint...

...and yet she did not seemed to be hesitating to aim with her pistols such of young child like Tito.

"WHO OF YOU FUCKS PARALYZED MY DOGS?! WHO?! WHO?! WHO?!" Meegan bellowed angrily to from Megan's actions surprised Billy's new crew while aiming all of them with her handguns...

...until there was heard another gunshot, and pass of Megan's faces flied a new bullet that flied in the level of her pistols and ended up to hit to both of her pistols at the same time and heavily damaged both of them, knocking them out of Megan's hands, burning them with the heat of the impact and resulting Megan herself to let the loud cry out of pain.

And then, soon after that, the answer to Megan's question came from the direction from where the bullet and tranquilize darts had came from.

"I DID, AND I DEMMAND THIS TO STOP IMMEDIATELY!" Said the serious-sounding voice from the doorway of the gymnasium.

Everybody in the presence, even Michonne, turned their attentions to the doorway of the gymnasium and within a few minutes, Billy and his crew, those guys whom were a moment ago holding Michonne in the air from the chains tied to her wrists and ankles and the entire crowd of the Street dogs in front of the stage...

...except for Megan and still thightly from her hands to the posts chained Michonne...

...bowed their heads deep down and instantly fell on their both knees to the floor and proceed by leaning their upper bodies forward that they hands touched the ground, but even then they lowered their upper bodies even further down that the bottom side of their arms and their arms elbows were in touch with the ground...

...and the people remained like this in the floor in submissive gesture like the submissive dogs...

...and speaking of the submissive dogs, even Billy's a new crew's dogs and the other dogs in the crowd lowered their heads down before the one whom had just entered into the gymnasium

While following these Street Dogs submissive gestures, Michonne remembered both Daryl and Carl, both of which had been in a large factory that was the place where the Saviors kept their Primary Headquarter, having told to both her and Rick that in the each moment when Negan is in presence, all everybody else in the presence were ordered to kneel down on one of their knees before him to show respect and were allowed to stand up only then when Negan either allowed them to stand up or was himself gone from the sight.

These Street dogs were actually doing the very same thing as the Saviors judged by Daryl's and Carl's words.

But in the way of these people, these people acted more like the submissive dogs in the pag...

...which told to Michonne that the leader of these people had arrived.

As the man stepped clearly in Michonne's eye-sight revealing himself... he revealed himself to be the quite eldery hispanic-american man, probably early to mid 50s. He had a light brown skin, graying eyebrows above of his blue eyes and graying long hair, which were seen from peeking from under of his green beanie, in which was also made during of its weaving the word "Alpha." The man wore over him yellow/orange collar sweater and over of which he wore the riot suit's chest armor and a black trench coat and yet he had the military boots in his legs. This man was carrying two long machetes in their sheaths, which were tied in X-position into his back with over his right shoulder going belt, in which was hanging a four of grenades and Glock 19 pistol in its sheath in the middle of the belt and the grenadines while he carried another handgun, Colt Gold Cup National Match, in the sheath that was hanging in the belt in his left hip. He was also carrying the heavy M60 weapon.

 _This guy must be the one, they've been talking about._ Michonne thought.

And he hadn't arrived alone.

He had along of with him a two dozen of soldiers-like Street dogs, who had all dressed into the black riot gears and helmets - even though some of them didn't even wore the helmets upon their heads but rather black caps, black beanies, hoods or bandanas, and those ones wore with them the black sun glasses - along with the bandana masks - or to cover their faces, into which were described in angry dogs teeth-baring mouths. Nearly each one of them carried the broad police riot shields in their left or right hands while they held in sight with their free arms Mk. 18 Mod 0 assault rifles

He had along of with him over four dozen of soldiers-like Street dogs, both men and women, who had all dressed into the black riot gears and riot helmets - but some of them didn't even wear the helmets but rather black caps, black beanies, black hoods or black bandanas - on their heads, along of which they used either bandana masks to cover part of their faces or they covered their entire faces with the black ski masks, into which were described in angry dogs teeth-baring mouths. Like their leader, each one of them seemed to carry the machetes in their sheaths tied with the belts in their backs - and the handles of the machetes were peeking over either left or right shoulder, depending on whether the user was left- or right-handed - and into the same belt had been attached the sheaths for the Beretta 92FS pistols. Yet each one of them had the dual Brügger & Thomet MP-9 machine pistols in dual thigh holsters. Nearly each one of them carried the broad police riot shields, into which had been described the angry faces of the dogs with their bared teeth covered with blood, in their left or right hands while they carried in their free hands mostly either Mk. 18 Mod 0 assault rifles or M4A1 Carbines with the laser sights.

Two of them had armed themselves with the different weapons along with the machetes, and Brügger & Thomet MP-9 machine pistol... one of them, female Street dog, carried in hers arms the Winchester Model 70 sniper rifle with its pipe lightly smoking, explaining the reason to a moment ago happened sounds of the gunshots and out of nowhere against Megan's wrench and later her handguns flied bullets. And another one of them, male Street dog, carried Mossberg 590 shotgun in his hands.

Five of them seemed to be wielding handheld GE M134 Miniguns, which they had lowered down instead of aiming them at Meegan or any other in the entire group.

 _Everybody here are so heavily armed._ Michonne thought.

And the remaining one held in his arms the long staff, in the head of which was hanging the banner, into which had been described in angrily barking dog's head, as the dog bared its blood-covered teeth and fangs... this one was probably the symbol bearer of the Street dogs.

Their leader was at the moment yet carrying tranquilizer handguns in his hands, while he was standing in between of two of his men, who were holding about ten angrily snarling rottweiler-dogs from their belts...

One of them was a slender man, whom had dressed into the riot gear, which chest armor was full of dents and scratches and the attachment of the left belt was gone. And not just it. This Street dogs left arm was missing from above of the elbow. The man was also wearing the blood-red bandana wrapped onto his head, that covered the upper side of his faces and head... along with the black sunglasses, which he kept over his forehead when he had not use for them and also some bandoliers across his chest, probably to make himself to look tough among of his own people. And unlike the others, his only weapon in choices were the large knife in its sheath in his right side of the stabbing strikes and Heckler & Koch G3SG/1 which he carried in his back.

Another man alongside of the Alpha and the slender man was the man, whom was as large and muscular as a Buster or Joshua, and whom wore the thick dark-brown suede coat over his upper body. This man also wore the thick black shirt beneath of it, but the majority of his shirt's left side and the left sleeve had been tore off from it, leaving the shredded line across his upper body in between of with the shirt covered and bared side. This revealed that the man was heavily scarred from the left side to his head, as there was a lot of short and long stitched scars across his left side and chest... a couple small ones beneath of his throat, two long scars that went cross of his forehead from his left temple and the final, longer and apparently even badder scar, went across his faces in the straight curve, even going across his left eye with was now sealed with the stitches. This man did not apparently carry the weapon, because he had his hands full of keeping the Alpha's dogs under control.

The Alpha stared with the harsh and dark look at Meegan for firing those two shots into the air and over of Billy's hroup despite the fact that they were all in the same side... after which he then turned to Billy, allowing only him to stand up by calling his name.

"Billy! What is her rule infringement this time?" Alpha asked, elbeit with a bit bored tone, telling to Michonne that this wasn't his first time dealing such of situations with this Meegan.

"Attempt of violating the rule of that protects the hostages lives 'till the end of the hostages interrogation by killing the hostage... and raising the gun against the fellow Street dogs with the hostile attitude... disrespectful attitude towards the rules... again." Billy answered, staring from through of the corner of looking from the corner of the eye at Meegan.

"Well, I'm not the only one who raised the gun either against the fellow Street Dog, breaking that law... Buster raised his own gun against me as well, thus breaking the law... and yet even Dodger was about to blast that bitch's brains out of her skull." Megan protested.

"Save your protests, because I witnessed the whole scene from the shadows, Megan my dear. But you were the only one who provoked Buster to do so, yet he held back the fire due to his hoor towards the law of the Street dogs, even though you still made the several attempts to provoke him to pull the trigger."

"And yes, I know well that that black bitch in the chains provoked Dodger to lift his own handgun up and aim with it at her, threatening to kill her even though that very act would be against the law, which he knew and apparently hesitated of breaking it. And thanks to Billy for reminding him about the law, he held back his fire as well, meaning that neither of them completely broke the certain laws in here, because neither of them opened the fire at first." The Alpha explained.

"But, in fact, you were the first and only one who broke two laws _"The Street dog never raise the gun against another Street dog and shoot at him with it"_ and " _All p_ _ossible hostages are protected by the law 'till the_ _interrogation_ " by openly opening the fire upon the fellow Street dogs... and even making the open attempt on that bitch's life. Both of them are highl against the law of the Street dogs!" Alpha said with the scolding tone at Megan's direction.

"But... but..." Megan tried to explain, but...

"SILENCE!" The Alpha firmly ordered, startling Megan.

"YOU KNEW OUR LAW AND STILL YOU BROKE IT. SO, YOU HAVE TO FACE THE PUNISHMENT FOR BREAKING THE LAW... YOU WANTED IT OR NOT. THAT'S ALL AND NO BUTS!" The Alpha firmly added, accepting no further protest from Megan anymore.

Quickly realizing that there was standing fifty people, alongside of the leader of their entire pack, who maintained firmly from this place's strict law and demanded them to be obeyed, against one her, and whom were all heavily armored and possessed the pack of angry rottweiler-dogs and the overwhelmingly greater firepower... and each of their assault rifles were laser sights, which were at the moment aimed at her for opening the fire upon the Street dogs... considering her as the lawbreaker among of the Street dogs.

Despite her fierce and stubborn nature, Megan knew when to surrender. Because there was no resisting against the arrest nor the judgment given to her by their leader, or else the punishment will be changed into far more worse, which all Street dogs knew.

And by the Street dogs law, if anyone resisted the arrest by killing the fellow Street dogs - or even raised the gun or melee weapon against the leader of their community - the punishment from such of crime among of the Street dogs wasn't the exile but rather death by the horrible...

...by at first banishing to be punished ex-member from the Street dogs by marking with the handmade branding iron two letters, LB meaning "lawbreaker", over of their SD marks on their foreheads, after whch the marked punishable ones were taken either tied up or cuffed to the pits, where they were then pushed among of untameable and fierce man-eating dogs that eats every person being tossed into among of them.

Such of notorious punishment among of the Street dogs was rarely used, but it gave a sufficiently impressive message to others about what's going to happen if goes too far gone with breaking the law of the Street dogs.

And so, Megan took her brass-knuckles off her hands and dropped them to the floor, including her double barreled shotgun from her back and all her toys, which he would also be able to use as weapons whenever necessary.

And after Megan had dropped all her weapons and toys, the Alpha signaled Bob by calling his name to move towards Megan's weapons and stuff to confiscate them, incuding Megan's heavily damaged Glock 19 pistols out from Megan's reach.

The Alpha then turned to his men standing in next to him in both sides.

"Edward and Jeremy! Take Megan Ramirez away and put him to the excrement pit to shovel and cleaning work with the other workers... again! And I want a couple few guys to bring Billy, Bob, Buster and Dodger before me. I have something to disguss with them." The Alpha said.

Both men bowed their heads to their leader before handing the dogs to the other men, before they took a few armored guys from the entire group and directed them to take Billy, Bob, Buster and Dodger from the crowd, while they themselves moved towards Megan to take her away wit hthe gunpoint.

Megan agreed to voluntarily and submissively embrace the punishment... again... but the mechanic woman firmly and stubbornly resisted of being touched by the men, as they were about to grab from her arms and take her away.

She preferred to walk to where she was about to be taken than to be dragged there by force.

And after witnessing this, the Alpha led out the frustrated sight at Megan... She was their best mechanic and one of his best fighters in his army, albeit more in close combat than in guerrilla warfare with both the Saviors and the walkers, _abominations_ in his tongue, but she's still constantly a trouble-maker by picking up the fight after fight with the other Street dogs within the community, sometimes ending to the use of violence, which was also against one of the Alpha's laws which Buster had explained to the ladies of Billy's new crew.

And when she was about to pass him with Edward and Jeremy...

"You know what, Megan, my dear? I'm absolutely thinking about the very same question that Buster showed to you... that since when YOU have willingly followed the rules of this place, due to me always catching you willingly making the troubles and violating the rules whenever the eye avoids? What I can do with you, Megan? Since the punishment work in the the excrement pit doesn't help and in your case I don't dare to even consider any of our punishment outposts... what I can do to make you to follow the rules?" The Alpha asked with the concerned tone.

Without the hesitation, Megan spit her answers as straight words out of her mouth.

"Just break that goddamned and useless fake-truce with those "so-called" Saviors and lead us to the battle against them... as a payback for wwhat they have done to us and for what they've forced us to do through of that. I'm so tired of waiting our upcoming moment of revolution and to be forced by them in their each visit to repair those fucking lazy assholes vehicles nearly every day in the week... and get only tauntings and a new repairing as an reward while they take most of our hard-earned property as an "so-called" taxes for their "so called" protection they offered to us. Is revolution so much to ask?" Megan asked.

"I'm sorry, Megan, my dear. I understand that. We all do. We all have been suffered from this enslavery-like life-style under of that fucking asshole Jencko and his Saviors through of this Negan-guy longer than I can remember since..." The Alpha apologized, until he suddenly stopped and closed both of his eyes and lowered his head a bit down, clearly unable to continue or finish his words.

This lasted only for five minutes, until the alpha hardened his faces and voice and was capable to speak again.

"But we just have to continue pretending to be submissive towards him and the Saviors so that we can finish our preparations for them." He added.

"And I've many times over wished very much that I could reveal our actions and strike directly into their hearts on every element of surprise and opportunity that I've get during of their each visit but eventually forced to skip after considering the situations and possible alternated outcomes... because it's extremely foolish to go against the Saviors so arrogantly and even unprepared for them and for the alternated outcome, as we did the last time and we paid for it the very high price, if you remember."

This one reminded Michonne about the massacre which her people lauched, with the help of the hilltoppers, upon the Saviors at the satellite outpost, after they had learned about Negan's name and the Saviors exist, their common history between the Saviors and the Hilltop, the ways how the Saviors have enslaved and terrorized the people of Hilltop and the location of their satellite outpost which population they destroyed - until her people learned that there was even more, even hundreds of Saviors and that they possessed even wider network over the whole area... and when they realized that instead of eliminating the threat of the Saviors they had instead revealed their presence to Negan, it was too late...

...and for their foolish attack without without complete preparations and full knowledge about the Saviors, her people had paid the terrible price for their foolishness, including their freedom and the lives of Denise, Abraham and Glenn.

Meaning that her people and these Street dogs did not differ much from each other by their fates, sufferings and slavery under Negan.

"And I've already said that we have to wait for very right moment of revolution, when they're totally off-guard and unprepared for our strike, or else the same incident will repeat itself... and that's what I don't want to happen." The Alpha finished.

Letting out the heavy sight after hearing this, Megan turned away from her leader and kept going towards the excrement pit to stinky and dirty shovel works with Edward and Jeremy as her escorts.

And once Megan was out of the sight, the Alpha then turned to Billy, Bob, Buster and Dodger, whom had been lined by the Alpha's soldiers in front of him to wait for his judgment.

At first, the Alpha turned to Buster.

"Buster... you should not be so provoked that it drives you to pull the gun out and use it against the fellow Street dogs, not to threatening them with it like you did with Megan and not to shoot at your own with it like Megan did... I'm sorry, but for partially breaking that law, I have to send you to one of our punishment outposts to keep watch for the Saviors or those undead _abominations_ in the forest. You shall go to the strongest outpost near of their main headquater at the abandoned prison. I've given word that their previous leader has die in the teeth of one of those undead _abominations_ and I need there one of my most trusted lieutenants to keep the order and control over of that outposts leaderless and nearly gone restless people in there. That's the reason why I do not place you into the ranks as one, but you do not need to tell that once you get there. Now be gone, and good luck." The Alpha said with the calm and gentle voice.

Buster made the honor to his leader by placing his fist upon his chest.

"My leader's wish is my law... I'll be off before afternoon." Buster said and exited from the room.

And once Buster was gone, the Alpha turned to the rest of three, Billy, Bob and Dodger.

"And you three... come with me." The Alpha said as he started to walk towards the stage of the gymnasium, followed by Billy, Bob and Dodger... as well as by the soldiers that had brough them before the Alpha.

It was time for the Alpha to personally interrogate captured Michonne for the possible life-important information about them and their preparations, which they strongly believed Michonne having in her possession, before the law of the Street Dogs stops protecting her life and they would be able to do with her whatever they want to get rid of the believed threat and a human garbage.

"Carry on... all of you." The Alpha said, as he was climbing up the stairs leading to the stage, to the crowd in the presence...

...until each one of them in the subservience-like bowing position slowly and silently stood one by onbe up from the ground back on their feet... and either remained to witness the upcoming interrogation or after of the better things to do exited from the gymnasium along with of their dogs.

And once the Alpha had reached in front of Michonne, who was still standing on her knees in the ground, hanging from the chains tied around of her both wrists and the posts in each side of her, the Alpha crouched down slightly, and eventually landed on one of his knee to the floor, that his own head was right above of the level in which Michonne's own head was.

Assuming that Michonne was still in a bit weak state after being beaten up by Megan, the Alpha carefully and gently stretched out his hand forward and placed it under of Michonne's chin, gently lifting her head up so that their eyes and faces met each others.

And instantly at the sight of the leader of these Street dogs, Michonne angrily bared her own blood-covered teeth and hardened her faces, creating on them the fearless and defiant look and squeezed her fingers tightly into the fists... and let out the growl-like snort as she made the attempt towards the Alpha, despite her arms being tightly chained to the posts, which also provoked the soldiers nearly grab on their Beretta 92FS handguns out... and it also provoked as well Billy and the rest of his crew to reach to their own handgun's grips with their leader protecting attitude.

However, impressed of Michonne's fearless attitude and resistance despite being both tied up and beaten...

...unlike most of the Saviors captured by them would pathetically plead for their lives in front of him and his people, even though they themselves knew what kind of terrible things they have done to Street dogs, whence they would not receive any mercy...

...the Alpha lifted up and stretched his hand backwards towards his people and gestured them to stand down and keep their weapons in their sheaths.

"Today we have already rushed quite enough with the firearms... now we have to use some diplomacy instead of raw force." The Alpha said to his men, whom slowly and a bit reluctantly, due to their concern of their leader's safety, placed their guns back to their sheaths and removed their hands from their grips.

"That's better." The Alpha said...

with the congratulating tone to his men...

...before he turned back to Michonne, who still glared at him with the angry look in her faces.

"Greetings, miss... uh... uhh... was it...?" the Alpha said, as his words halted like into the wall as he realized that he didn't know Michonne's name, and turned to the three person of his people, Billy, Two Ton and Chevalier Lumière, who had brough Michonne here in the first place.

"Uh... Michonne... I believe that that black bitch's name is Michonne. I did heard that another asshole called Prick... I meant, Rick... calling her with that name many times over back in that house... shouting that name even then when he was apparently claimed either by those undead _abominations_ or the wild forest fire." Billy answered, quickly searching that from his memory.

"Michonne, eh?" the Alpha asked yet again, earning the nod from Billy and even rapid nodding from Two Ton.

"Effectivement. C'est elle nom, monsieur." Chevalier Lumière said in his native language...

...until he earned from the Alpha a bit questioning look targeted at him, telling to Lumière that he wasn't a quite fond with, neither capable to read or speak french unlike Lumière was.

"Meaning, "Indeed. That's her name, sir." My apologizes, monsieur." Lumière said, translating what he had just said for his leader to understand.

"Michonne... Michonne... that's the pretty name... maybe even too pretty for the Savior woman's name... for example those two last captured female Saviors' names... Mertle and Selma... UGH! DISGUSTING! I don't even want to think about those two!" The Alpha murmured to himself.

And then, the Alpha turned back to Michonne.

"Now then... uhh... where was I? Hmmmph... Uhh... Hmmmph." He added, as he tried to remember that where he was before he had turned to his men to ask Michonne's name when he himself didn't know it yet.

"OH, YES!" The Alpha suddenly exclaimed, after thinking nearky ten minutes that where he was.

"I would want to apologize that our welcome to the Dog House isn't so welcoming and hospitable, but I do not appreciate you trespassing into my land, thus violating your part of our agreement, and yet killing my men back at that house in our territory's border... and simply because of your affiliation with that big Savior-asshole Jencko and his army of pathetic assholes, you're not welcome in here. But now when you have violated your part of our agreement by trespassing into our lands, killing my people and our dogs, and probably even spied us by gathering the information of our preparations for the counter-strike against your people, we have to deal with you by the way as our laws demands us." The Alpha, revealing his name as Tobias Shadow, said to Michonne.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Fifteenth** **cliffhanger...**

 **Michonne has just met the Street dogs leader, Tobias Shadow, who sees and believes captured Michonne as the Savior alike everybody else, and is about to deal with her by the way as the law of the Street dogs demands them, _The law of the Street dogs protects the hostages life 'till the end of the_** ** _interrogation._**

 **What's going to happen next and will Rick reach to the Dog House in time to save her before the interrogations ends,** **we'll see it in the next time.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 ****This one memory is one of the deleted scenes from the Season 7**

 **See ya in the next time.**


	16. Chapter 16: Escape Plans

**CHAPTER 16: ESCAPE PLANS**

Meanwhile, back in Rick's, Jackie's and Zoe's into a ditch driven, into the woods nect to the road crashed and overturned van, whuch was at the moment surrounded by from the bloody chasse survived Savior's surrounded...

...and meanwhile within the van, where Zoe was still packing their last bag with the food, water, guns, ammunation and other from the crash survived and still useful supplies from the van's cargo as much as into the bag could still fit...

...Rick, who kept the watch from the van's backside's doors, peeked over the edge of the overturned van's floor in the spot of the doorway, with his Colt Python ready to fire, to see that was there anyoné coming to check the backside of the van from his side.

And, when he heard the incoming steps, and two pair of legs soon appeared, Rick quickly pulled himself in cover...

...because there was indeed at least two people armed with the Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun and Norinco Type 56 assault rifle...

...which they carried in their arms and kept them aimed at the doorway of the backside as they slowly approached the van's backside... step by step... in case of the resistance of the survivors within the van in the fform of their Last Stand or an suicidal attempt to break through and escape, though neither of these Saviors did not even believe that was anyone within the crashed and overturned van alive.

And they kept coming closer.

Rick was unable to shoot both of them at the same time, because even though he might take out one of them with the element of surprise, another one would be quick enough to react by returning to fire...

...or even worse, storm under the cover of his own gunfire, the one of them would storm to the doorway of the van's backside and open the fire to inside, killing all of them now when they are without the cover - the riot shields and the riot suits - from the bullets.

The situation was a quite bad for Rick and the couple of Street dogs.

"Alright, boys! Let's get this done!" One of the Saviors called out to his men...

...and the Saviors, taking the safeties off their weapons and loading them so that they will be ready to fire at the sight of anyone within the van, kept closing behind of the corner of the overturned van's doorway's edge hiding Rick.

However, before the Saviors could even peek inside of the overturned the van's...

...the rescue came for the Rick, Zoe and Jackie through of the miracle way.

Even though the Saviors kept their guns aimed and their eyes locked at the van's backside's doorway, both of them peeked a bit nervously at the forest when they heard the walkers growling coming from near distance...

...and eventually they turned their weapons from the van to the bushes and trees...

...as from among of the bushes and from between of the trees started to emerge into their - as well as in Rick's - sight a several walkers, one by one or several at one time, growling out of the lust for flesh and blood. And even more walkers started to emerge from all around of them, as they were attracted to the scene by the loud shooting on the road.

These two Saviors instantly turned their weapons at the incoming walkers, including opening fire at them and killing the first ones of them and kept firing at the walkers, even though their firing was a quite careless and hasty, as they seemed not caring if their hit with their bullets and shells into the walkers upper bodies, limbs or heads.

With these two's attentions completely locked at the walkers that started to walking straight towards them, Rick dared to peek again from behind of the overturned van's floor's edge to eye these two guys a little bit... to make sure that their attentions were completely in the walkers.

One of these two Saviors, whop was carrying in his arms Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun, was quite obese and he had dressed into the sleeveless dirty shirt and garbageman's cap.

And another man, who carried in his arms Norinco Type 56 assault rifle, was rather slender man, who used torn shorts and black coat over his shirtless upper body and he had dirty and messy blond hair.

These guys have to be the guys named Greg and Michael, because Rick had heard the someone, who was called by the other Saviors with the nickname Big Ben, calling these two by their names to investigate the backside of the van.

And while Rick kept watch from the backside's doorway, Jackie stood in the watch from the driver's cabin's side...

...until Jackie gestured Zoe, who immediately stopped packing the back after noticing Jacie's gesture, to hide behind of the driver's cabin seats as he saw the third Savior to be about checking into the cabin.

Both of them managed to hide behind of the seats backs, with Zoe pulling the bags with her into the hide and out of the sight from the cabin...

...before the Savior with the purple mohawk and who was wearing purple hoodie and purple-colored sweatpants and with Remington 750 semiatomatic rifle in his hands, and with the name Randall as they heard this Big Ben-named guy calling him so, checked into the cabin through of the destroyed windscreen.

However, incoming walkers caught his attention, and the Savior turned his attention and weapon away from the cabin and at the walkers.

With their gunfire, Greg, Michael and Randall were able to gun down the several walkers, albeit their hasty firing and hits to the walkers upper bodies (or to their lower limbs) either pushed the walkers backwards or knocked them over to the ground, though they managed to kill several of them with the hasty headshots.

But, however, without the silencers in their weapons, the loud gunfire from their hasty and careless shooting draw even more, dozens and dozens of walkers to emerge out of the woods to the scene and head straight to the sources of the gunshots.

But the Saviors just kept firing, wasting the bullets and shells to the walkers bodies, as even more walkers appeared to the scene.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE! HOLD YOUR FUCKING FIRE AND YOU MELEE WEAPONS ON THE DEAD FUCKERS, YOU MOTHERFUCKING IDIOTS!" Rick heard coming from behind of the corner, probably this one was that Big Ben.

However, in the whole area was already at least one dozen walkers against one Savior, and even more was pouring in out of the woods, making it to look that there was already two dozens of walkers against the one person.

"FUCKING DAMNED!" The Big Ben called Savior cursed and opened the fire with his couple Smith & Wesson M&P handguns.

"TO THE HEADS, YOU IDIOTS! FIRE THEM TO THEIR FUCKING HEADS!" Big Ben angrily bellowed to his men.

However, the continuous and in the air echoing sounds of the gunshots covered his voice completely.

* * *

And now when the Saviors busy with the walkers, both Rick and Jackie turned to Zoe.

"Zoe! Have you already done with packing the bag?" The walkers are starting to mass to the scene and we need to get out of here immediately." Rick said...

...as he had noticed that even though the walkers draw the Saviors attention away from them, the Saviors careless gunfire draw even more of the walkers out from the woods... blocking their escape from the area as well.

And that they needed to get out of here before the Saviors run eventually out of ammo and ends up to be a buffet for the walkes, who would them remain to wander aimlessly in the large ring around of the wrecked van, and in time they would become aware of them hiding inside of the van and turn their focus on them.

"Almost done, Rick. I..." Zoe said, until...

They then suddenly heard the sound, which sounded a bit a Walkie Talkie's radio.

"This is Big Ben! Big Ben, Leader of patrol C, calls all south-east districts outpost's patrols in contact. I repeat, Big Ben calls all south-east districts outpost's all patrols in contact." Big Ben said to the Walkie Talkie, presumably calling for other patrols to copy as he checked the channels one by one.

 _Other patrols? How much of these Saviors patrols are in this part of the Street dogs territory._ Rick thought in his mind after hearing that.

It didn't take long from the other side of the line, whoever there was, to respond back to Big Ben.

" _Marco, leader of patrol D, online! What is it now again, Big Ben?_ " Heard from the Walkie Talkie.

" _Helen, leader of patrol E, online!_ " Another one heard from the Walkie Talkie.

And, Big Ben of course didn't waste a time.

"This is Big Ben. Leader of Patrol C! We got the fugitive van from the road full of precious stuff, but the patrols A, B and C have suffered the heavy casualties and thanks to these three with fucking idiots that survived with me and their overly sensitive trigger fingers, there's a large bunch of these undead fucks all around of us preventing us of claiming the stuff within the van... If one of you two is off-duty, head immediately to the road that goes across of the forest in the south-east district as a reinforcements and bring here the heavy toys with you. You'll recognize the place from on the road parked Ford F-150 SuperCab XLT mounted withBrowning M2HB machine gun standing in next of the damaged lamppost. I'm waiting for the responds. Over!" Big Ben's voice said through of the Walkie Talkie to someones with the names Marco and Helen.

 _Oh, great! He's asking for more reinforcements!_ Rick thought.

It didn't take long from the voice of woman, probably the one who was called with the name Helen, to respond.

" _Copy that, Big Ben. My patrol was actually about to head back home through of your location. The help from the patrol E is incoming to your direction and will be there in fifteen minutes... You got ten bikes, ten cars and ten ATV vehicles mounted with miniguns, along with seventy men... and a couple of_ _AM General M35A3 trucks loaded with four dozen people more and six_ _Browning M1919A4 machine guns_ " Helen said from the other side of the line.

After hearing the name of the machine guns, Jackie snorted out of frustration.

"Why do the Saviors have always the good shit... along with the sheer numbers?!" He asked with the loud whispering tone.

Zoe than landed her arm onto Jackie's left shoulder to calm him down... before he would unintentionally reveal their presence to the Saviors.

"Remember, Jackie, that we have back in Dog House such of good toys in our posession as well back, not just in their posession." Zoe reminded him.

"Well, despite that, the sheer numbers are still on their side, remember?." Jackie said, reminding Zoe about the Saviors numbers.

And then, they heard from the outside of their van that Big Ben was about to get another respond through of his Walkie Talkie.

However, another one called Marco, had completely different, more likely negative, respond to this.

" _This is already eighteen times when you're in trouble with the undead on your patrol and you ask for the help, Big Ben!_ _Do I have to always do everything for you, you lazy motherfucking baby! Do I have to even wash you fucking ass for you?!_ _I'll say that handle you yourself your own troubles and let me and my patrol to head back home for beer and tobacco._ " The Marco said from the other line of the Walkie Talkie.

However, Big Ben immediately, and angrily, answered back soon after Marco had finished.

"And you stay far away from the Bar outpost 'till this is done, you stupid, fat, shit-smelling drunkard! What I can do for it, if the good crewmen is hard to find nowadays in the fucking End of the World?! Besides, there's a bit too much of these undead fucks for four of us to deal them all. So, move your fucking ass from your fucking easy chair and get it in here at once! And if you too have a heavy toys, bring them along with you here. I think that there's a lots and lots of these undead motherfuckers all around of the forest near of the bridge, meaning that the forest must be purged off from all of them before we can empty the van's wreck's precious cargo." Big Ben said.

"And mark my words, Marco, that if you withdraw your patrol from this mission, I'll have a word to be reported for Jencko that you allowed those undead fucks to overrun a precious cargo from the wreck of the fugitive van... he'll totally skins you alive, hangs you into the spear like in the skewer behind of the wall to feed your skinned body to these undead bastards! You've already seen that happening to one his orders disobeyed asshole. Do you want to be the next fucking meal for those undead fucks?!" Big Ben threatened.

"They do what?!" Rick nearly exclaimed after hearing such of punishment among of _**these**_ Saviors.

From Daryl and Carl Rick had heard about two different kinds of the punishments among of the Saviors - in addition of being locked in the dark room for hours and fed with nothing but the dog-food sandwiches... and, in the worst case, being tortured by playing the one same song (Easy Street) for hours - which they both had witnessed with their very own eyes when they both were in the Saviors Headquaters as temporary prisoners.

For troublemakers, rulebreakers and fugitives/thieves among of the Saviors awaited the simply punishment; the execution, after which the executed Saviors were chained into or outside of their fences to keep the outsiders out.

Another punishment, for dereliction of duty and cheating, which one of the Saviors called with the name Mark, a Savior worker, whom had shirked his work duties to be with his ex-girlfriend called Amber, who was one of Negan's wives in his "harem", suffered by getting the left side of his faces badly burned with a hot iron by Negan in front of the Savior crowd to show everybody the price for breaking "his" rules.

Well, now Rick at least knew that these Saviors, under the command of this guy called Jencko, of whom both Zoe and Jackie had told him about, had far more strict rules and even more horrible punishments than what Negan has.

 _They skins their own rulebreakers alive?! Place them in the spears like in the skewers in outside of their outposts and let them to be eaten by the walkers?_ Rick thought with the disgust of these Saviors ways to punish their own troublemakers and the possible prisoners.

This Jencko-guy's presence gave to Rick such of feeling that there was like two Negans!

 _Even one Negan is enough already_. Rick thought.

" _I got the shivers ONLY if such of threat is coming from the mouth of Jencko. From your mouth, it sounds overly ridiculous._ " Marco said from the other side of the line.

As Big Ben and Marco started to argue even more fiercely through of their Walkie Talkie, that caused Big Ben to forget the walkers and his own men, whom were still blindly firing/wasting the bullets at the incoming herd...

...and as the herd grew even more larger and denser in every corner of the place as the loud gunfire echoed over the forest's air space, drawing out even more walkers towards their direction...

...Rick, Zoe and Jackie started to urgently consider all of their possible chances to get out of there, before the reinforcements, whom Big Ben just called, would arrive to the scene with the large firepower.

"If I count the time correctly, we only have slightly less than ten minutes to get out of here before even more of those bastards will arrive to the scene." Zoe informed to the others, after she checked the time from the still working watch she was, fortunately for all three of them, carrying with her.

After the Savior Helen had informed the arrival of her patrol to the scene, Zoe had taken her watch immediately in the use to check that how much time they have before the Savior reinforcements reaches to the scene.

"The Saviors aren't our only problem here, Zoe." Jackie then said.

"Our real problem is... how we're ever gonna make it out of there and into the forest without attracting half of the herd of those _abominations_ after us." Jackie asked, gesturing with his hand at the walkers in the outside of the van.

The herd had indeed grown into more dense around of the wreck of the van, blocking every way out of the area and into the woods. And the density of the herd around of their wrecked van forced the trio to realize, that they would have to resort to firepower to clean the way through of the herd.

It needed to be a quite narrow path through of the herd, but just big enough for them to escape from the scene into the woods.

The idea of getting in any way through of the large and dense herd of walkers was extremely risky and even suicidal attempt... but apparently their only hope to get out of there.

However, Zoe informed some dark and unfortunate facts of this idea.

"But even though we have to clean our way through of those _abominations_ by using some of our firepower at them, the loud gunshots could of course attract at the same time Big Ben's and his remaining Saviors attentions away from those _abominations_ to us and immediately spot us executing our definitely suicidal attempt to escape from the scene...

...and one single glance on us escaping with the three bags of our stuff from the van's cargo could with the high possibility provoke them to turn their guns at us and even shoot us, either ending up to killing us with a direct hits in our backs or cripple us with the hasty fire at our legs, which could lead us to fall over to the ground and in middle of those _abominations_... but they would do that only with their very own risk of getting themselves overwhelmed by those _abominations_ within the very seconds they turn their fire away from them." Zoe explained.

"Yeah, but even though those _abominations_ would with ease overwhelm and kill those Randall, Greg and Michael-Saviors... and probably after them even Big Ben himself eventually, there was still incoming all three of us heavily overnumbering reinforcements, along with the heavier firepower and the heavier toys with them, with which they would purge the entire area from the walkers around of the woods... including us, if we even try to make our suicidal-looking attempt through of the herd." Jackie added...

...meaning that along with the herd of the walkers, whose herd was growing even bigger and denser in the area in every minute, a new fresh, large and heavily armed group of Saviors with their machine guns would make their escape even more difficult.

Rick fell for a moment into his own thoughts after hearing everything so far, especially considering for a while the latter talking point of their situation.

Until he eventually got somehow a bit brighter side of it.

"Only if they even bother to hunt us down to the forest." Rick said to Jackie and Zoe.

Both of the Street dogs turned their attentions to Rick, taking a bit confused loos into their faces as they stared at him, silently demanding the answers to his opinion with their questioning looks on their faces.

"Look. With that "if they even bother to hunt us down to the forest" I meant this. We might be at the moment surrounded by the walkers and that there's even more Saviors coming to the scene for us. However, both densely grown trees of this part of the forest and this dense herd of the walkers all around of us would at least offer to us a momentary protection against the Saviors bullets, even against their machine guns bullets. But that can be possible only, if there's no snipers among of these incoming saviors or that most of these fresh Saviors are actually as poor or hasty shooters like Randall, Greg and Michael here." Rick explained...

...until his latter words got him to turn to both Zoe and Jackie to ask from them some information, which would confirm his beliefs.

"If you two have faced the Saviors within your territory more than just once before, then can you tell me that how good shooters or gunmen are your Saviors in here?" Rick asked from both of them, hoping at the same time that there would be some useful information from everything they're about to tell him.

Jackie was the very first one to open his mouth to answer.

"Terrible. Very terrible shooters and gunmen... just like those three fucking idiots. As you probably saw it yourself when they opened their fire at the walkers, they're nothing more than wasting their precious ammo into those _abominations_ stomaches and hearts with no affect. Besides, those three idiots might be a new and fresh ones in the outside world and in a new reality." Jackie answered.

"What do you mean with that?" Rick asked.

And then, Zoe opened her mouth top answer for Jackie.

"Jackie means that most of these Saviors are actually former inmates from the nearby Penitentiary, where the Saviors in here keep their main headquarters nowdays. You see, Rick, these former inmates have spent almost all of their time within the strong walls of that prison since the very first days when this _abomination_ -plague broke out, after they were abandoned into their cells to die by themselves evacuating guards... which made from them bitter towards other survivors of the outside world, but also paranoids to this new reality full of those undead _abominations_. They still know how to use the firearms and kill living people from their criminal life before everything of this. But, however, in the case of those abominations wandering out there in hope for the living fresh flesh and blood, the encounters with them makes them to fall into near panic-like and hasty state, making them to shoot hastily to all around to keep those things away from themselves and in order to survive, not even caring if they accidentally shoots their own people in the process." Zoe informed.

Rick then interrupted her for a second to ask from her something about what she had just said, until Jackie interrupted him.

"Do not bother to waste our precious time by asking that "How then they ended up to become the Saviors?" Because there's no time to explain, and that's not important right now. We'll explain that one later, but not now." Jackie said firmly, somehow sensing that Rick was about to ask from her that how the inmates ended up to become the Saviors.

And after ensuring that Rick wouldn't interrupt her anymore, Zoe continued.

"Meaning that these former inmates dubbed now as the Saviors, at least most of them, lack much with the knowledge about these _abominations_ as well as with the ways how to kill them due to living most of this a new reality in safe within their walls... and this weakness makes them an easy prey for our patrols." Zoe added.

That information reminded Rick about his own people, that what kind of people the alexandrians were before he and his group showed up... the mere sheeps who have lived behind of the walls since the beginning of the outbreak, and who were physically and mentally weak and who were not used at all to the outside world's true reality... and even its own members had out of cowardice - as well as out of selfishness - sacrificed their own people and even their newcomers to the mercy of the walkers in order to survive themselves... until he and his group helped them to get used to the real reality, make them even stronger and brave to face a new world and make from Alexandria Safe-Zone what they had intended to build from it... with the price in the lives of the several dozens of their people from the teeth of the walkers or hands of those Wolves.

These Saviors, at least all those from the Penitentiary as Zoe explained, were like the cross between the Saviors and the former sheep-like alexandrians, but still even more cruel towards the other people than what were Negan and his Saviors.

"Good. And if these Saviors really are terrible shooters and mostly unaware of the ways to kill walkers, as you say, these Saviors would do nothing else but waste their ammo to their bodies with no affect instead of our own. And due to their paranoid attitude towards the walkers, it's highly unlikable that they would even bother to come after us into the woods full of walkers." Rick said.

"Aah! And if there's more shooters and more loud gunfire, then there's even more into far reaching louds sounds of the gunshots. That promises even more and more of those _abominations_ , attracted by the loud gunfire, to be wandering from all around of the entire area to the one spot of the area, that those reinforcements would be eventually both surrounded and eventually overwhelmed by those _abominations_. Jackie added with the full understanding and eager attitude.

Jackie believed it to be a very good plan to kill two flies with one strike and Rick believed that their risky and suicidal attempt to escape through of the walkers - and in the cover of the walkers against the Saviors bullets - into the woods would be more than successful.

"Do not get so eager yet, boys, there's a several weaknesses in the plan." Zoe said.

And after catching Rick's and Jackie's attentions into her, Zoe started to point out that one of the weaknesses in the plan was, that because Big Ben happened to be one of the high-ranked Savior lieutenants, and that he was probably aware of the ways how to kill the walkers unlike the other Saviors.

And that if even more of the Savior lieutenants are aware of the ways to kill the walkers, Helen, who is the lieutenant to the incoming reinforcements, would order most of her troops to open their fire onto the walkers in the level of their heads instead of the level of their stomaches, destroying the herd's every walker's brains with the heavy rain of bullets and shells and annihilate the entire herd within seconds and without wasting a much of their ammo onto them... just like Big Ben attempted to order his men to fire the walkers into their heads instead of their bodies, though their hasty firing and the loud gunshots covered his orders. And they would even shoot down the walkers with ease from the road, which was on the top of the ditch forming steep hill, beyond of the walkers reach.

Zoe also pointed out an another weaknesses of the plan, which was, that even though their bags were fully packed with the guns, food, water, ammo and other useful supplies, there was still a lots of from the crash survived, undamaged and still usable guns, ammo, explosions, fuel and everything else that did not fit into the bags.

"And that if those Saviors are successful of destroying the entire herd from around of the wrecked van, they would be able to claim as their own everything from this van what we're forced to leave behind to escape with everything else we're able to carry with us, and soon or later, all of these weapons, ammo and explosions in this van would be used against us instead of we using them against the Saviors." Zoe pointed out.

Both Rick and Jackie, without taking anymore than just a three minutes, realized that it was true.

There was still a lots of stuff within the van... too much for the three bags.

Zoe had packed into the bags most of the ammunation that belongs only to those guns - Over dozen of handguns, a couple of sniper rifles, a few shotguns, assault rifles and carbines, a couple of small submachine guns and the bag of grenades - that she had managed to fit into each bags. Only one of the backs contained mostly or only the guns, their ammunation and several grenades in case if they're needed. Zoe had packed a fewer guns into two another bags, saving the room for the food, water and the needed supplies, such like first aid supplies, their Walkie-Talkies and their batteries, the map, the flashlights and so on.

But still, too many still usable guns, ammunation and explosives would be left behind.

"We cannot let the Saviors to have this stuff." Zoe said with determination.

"Yet we cannot even defend all of it against over seventy or nearly eighty Saviors." Jackie said then.

And yet engaging the Saviors into the gunfight for these supplies would only reveal to those _abominations_ our presence, after which the wrecked van will be then overrun and we with it. And after that, those Saviors would easily purge the whole are from those things and claim the stuff anyway." Jackie added.

Rick started to consider these two opinions these Street dogs had just told to him... but, unfortunately, both of them led to the losing their stuff to the Saviors hands.

Rick started to think the third alternate opinion to prevent the Saviors from claiming these stuff as their own and use them against Zoe's and Jackie's people.

Rick then realized how simple the third alternate opinion was.

"Then we gotta destroy the remaining stuff to prevent them from falling into the Saviors hands." Rick said.

Both of the Street dogs eyes widened into wide after hearing this.

"DESTROYING OUR STUFF? BUT THAT'S MERE WASTING OF PRECIOUS STUFF!" Jackie exclaimed, being immediately against Rick's opinion of destroying all remaining stuff rather than leave it behind.

"But the Street dogs strength depends from these weapons and ammonation, Rick. We just can't destroy them!" Zoe protested against Rick's idea as well.

However, either not listening Jackie's and Zoe's protests or holding firmly from his opinion despite the Street dogs protests, Rick took out a couple of full-loaded DefTech 37mm launchers and started then to gather all the grenades (save for the ones in the bags) into the empty boxes and place them against the wrecked van's overturned floor.

"There's still a lots of grenades and dynamite that doesn't fit anymore into the bags, along with the full fuel tanks that would only slow us down if we end up to carry them in our hands and we need out hands for the guns. If we place these things together in the one right spot, we can use them as an advantage, with more than just in one way." Rick said as he started to explain.

"How?" Both Street dogs asked, wanting to know more, even though they didn't like it.

"Those Saviors aren't after us, they're after this wreck's cargo. We're just a small barrier in between of them and your stuff, and they're in intend to kill us only if we attempt to prevent them from claiming these weapons and other supplies. And because of the walkers and their inexperience about them, and once the van's cargo is in their possession, the Saviors wouldn't bother to chase us into the woods. But if we place all the explosives and fuel together in the one right spot, we'll be able to destroy them with the direct hit of the DefTech 37mm launcher. The explosion will destroy everything what's left from this wreck and everything within it, and the explosion will also kill everybody standing near of it. It will send the Saviors into the confusion and maybe even in the panic, along with preventing them to claim your stuff permanently, lure even more walkers to here to surrender and kill the confused Saviors and buy us even more time to escape." Rick explained.

"But I need your help to make it happen." Rick added as he started to move the fuel tanks next to the boxes full of grenades.

However, both the Street dogs were still against the idea.

"Can't... can't we just call for help with our own Walkie-Talkies. Call one of our own patrols to help us to purge this area from the both the Saviors and those _abominations_? With the help of our own people, we could save all of these stuff from ending up into the posession of the Saviors." Jackie suggested, as he took out his own Walkie-Talkie.

"Sure! Why not? Unless you forgot that both I and Michonne happened to wipe out most of your patrols of this district back in that house. And even though somebody would even answer to your call, ask from yourself this that when excatly they'll be here? If you ask me, they'll be here right then when this van is olready overrun and emptied and the Saviors themselves already gone along with your stolen stuff. Besides, the Saviors reinforcements would get here probably within or less three minutes... so it's too late for us to call help, Jackie." Rick said.

Then Zoe opened her mouth to speak.

"And speaking of this Michonne... what about her? "Didn't you just said a moment ago that you were gonna use all of this in exchange for your black girlfriend and your own stuff... along with the chance to speak with our Alpha? How you're then gonna do that with small part of all the weapons, food and supplies from this van?" Zoe asked with the protesting tone.

This question caused Rick to let out the deep sight out of frustration.

The amount of the goods that they're able to save into their bags wouldn't be enough to exchange them to his van and the goods he and Michonne found from the carnival area and from the nearby abandoned school.

However, three bags of the goods were better than nothing.

"Yes I did, but thanks to the Saviors, the plans changed." Rick said.

"At least I still have you two alive to exchange you to Michonne and the change to speak with your alpha. Its far more better than without anyone of you and the goods in the bags. Besides, I'm not much help to her if I'm dead, and for her sake - for the sake of the future without Negan and the Saviors - I am ready to sacrifice this amount of goods to ensure you two's survival, as well as the survival of the goods we're able to save." Rick stated firmly.

"And believe me. My plan will save all three of us, plus prevent these stuff to end up into the wrong hands, while both of you two's options would lead only one thing, your goods ending up in the hands of the Saviors. And I'll not allow that to happen." Rick added to the duo...

...as he started to gather the van's remaining cargo, all the remaining, the remaining guns, ammunation, explosives, all the few remaining food and water and other supplies into the pile over the grenade boxes and fuel tanks, leaving only the riot shields for the last, as he intended to cover with them the pile of their remaining goods to ensure that everything stays in the pile...

...leaving only the one gap between of the riot shield open from the spot where the fuel tanks and the grenade boxes were peeking from beneath of the pile to ensure the clear shot with the DefTech 37mm launcher, and the riot shields over and around of the pile would ensure the fact that everything from that close of the source of the upcoming blast will be destroyed.

Though a bit hesitant to follow Rick's plan, even though she saw that Rick got more than just the point with his plan, Zoe eventually joined to Rick's plan by helping him to gather all their remaining cargo over the grenade boxes and fuel tanks.

And so did Jackie, but not before Jackie had let out the loud groan out of frustration and reluctant defeat.

And with all three of them together, they quickly managed to gather everything into one pile against the overturned van's backside's floor, save for the riot shells, which they were going to place around and upon of the pile to make sure that everything stays in the pile.

However, they soon found out, that they had ran out of the time...

...as they, as did the step by step away from the wrecked van retreating Saviors and Big Ben, heard from out of nowhere strengthening sounds of the cars engines coming from nearby, and the sounds of the engines grown stronger as the sources of the sounds came even closer of this place, telling to the trio within the van that the Savior reinforcements had arrived to the scene...

...and it was the followed by the sharp sound of the tires rubbing against the asphalt as the drivers of the incoming vehicles hit the brakes and stopped onto the road.

* * *

Meanwhile, Outside of the van...

" _Copy that, Big Ben. My patrol was actually about to head back home through of your location. The help from the patrol E is incoming to your direction and will be there in fifteen minutes... You got ten bikes, ten cars and ten ATV vehicles mounted with miniguns, along with seventy men... and a couple of_ _AM General M35A3 trucks loaded with four dozen people more and six_ _Browning M1919A4 machine guns_ " Helen said from the other side of the line.

Big Ben, who had during the whole time argued with Marco through of the Walkie Talkie - while gunning down the walkers as well - turned his attention away from the Walkie Talkie to pay a look to the road...

...and saw his own vehicle being surrounded by thirty cars, ATV vehicles mounted with the miniguns (which formed the line in next of Big Ben's own vehicle) and motorbikes and two AM General M35A3 trucks, and both of the trucks stern platforms was at least three Saviors preparing their Browning M1919A4 machine guns ready to fire at the incoming herd of walkers, while the rest of the other Saviors onboard jumped off from the platform to the road and even more Saviors came out from their other vehicles.

Most of these Saviors on foot (not counting in the ones with the miniguns loaded onto ATV vehicles and Browning M1919A4 machine guns) were holding in their arms the different types of the assault rifles and carbines, submachine guns and shotguns while two dozen of them wielded a heavy weapons like the grenade launchers, rocket launchers, RPG:s, flamethrowers and even some carried miniguns. None of them, as usually for the Savior soldiers, was using the sniper rifles and handguns as their weapons...

...except the one of them, a woman with the curly black hair, who had dressed into the military camouflage vest and army green jeans. She had the blood-red bandana hanging around her neck and she was also wearing the black cap upon her head, on which she was also keeping the black sunglasses. And as her weapons, she was carrying in her arms a couple of SIG-Sauer P250 Compact handguns and Remington 870 Police Magnum in her back.

"About fucking time, Helen! These undead fucks were nearly to overrun us and my guys have nearly wasted all their ammo onto their bodies." Big Ben yelled as the reinforcements arrived, though he did not showed the gratitude to the fellow Savior.

However, as Helen and her group - save for the Saviors that had arrived onboard of the AM General M35A3 trucks and those ones wielding the miniguns loaded on ATV vehicles - came down the hillside to ungrateful Big Ben and three of his remaining men, Helen looked like that she didn't even care about if Big Ben didn't show the gratitude for her timely arrival.

Her full focus was in the wrecked van in middle of the walkers.

Big Ben then turned back to his Walkie Talkie.

"Well, you know what, Marco the Asshole? Actually, I don't need your lazy butt and your bunch of disobedient assholes anyway now when Helen and her guys reached here. So go ahead and head back to the Bar outbost for the beer and tobacco, and lay down your fucking ass onto the couch, if you want, but I'm still gonna report about you and your guys disobedience to Jencko once this is over. And I'm definitely gonna watch how he skins you and your assholes alive and places you into the spears like in the skewers in front of the walls as a buffet for those undead fucks. I really wish that Jencko would spare your life after skinning by simply chaining you to the post, where you would mourn your well-deserved miserable fate and beg for mercy when either dogs or those undead things rip the flesh from your bones and faces. I really hope, I really do... and I might even ask Jencko to do so once this round is over." Big Ben said to Marco, after which he turned the Walkie-Talkie off and took his Smith & Wesson M&P handguns into both of his hands.

And after Helen's sixty or seventy-headed fully armed group had joined to Big Ben's own smaller group...

"Alright! Listen up! Everyone of you! We're gonna purge this area from every fucking undead fucker. So stay in the formations and aim your weapons at the area of the heads, don't waste your ammo onto their stomaches nor legs! Don't let anyone of them to get close enough to eat your faces and beware of your feet for the falsely dead-looking ones." Helen said, before she turned to the rest of her group on the top of the steep hill.

"And the rest of you guys, give us a cover fire from up there, but only with the regular firearms, Browning M1919A4 machine guns and miniguns. The guys with the grenade and rocket launchers and RPG:s, hold your fire 'till I say otherwise. Anyone who dares to defy my orders, I'll put the bullet into your fucking brains! You got it?!" Helen ordered with the threatening tone.

Each Savior around of her nodded to her.

"Good! Then..." Helen said as she raised her voice.

And the trio within the wrecked van waited in tension.

However, Jackie couldn't wait any longer.

In any second when the Saviors open their fire upon the walkers around of their wrecked van, the whole area would be quickly and mostly purged from the walkers by their much heavier and superior firepower and they themselves would lost most of their cover against their bullets with the extermination of the herd. Plus making their chances to escape into the woods even harder, because in the open, despite the densely grown trees, they're too easy prey for their bullets, shotgun shells, rockets and grenades... unless they're willing to have their bags as well.

And so, Jackie grabbed to his Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser" shotguns.

"Alright, that's it... I'm done of waiting to end up into cannon fodder or an chewing toy of those _abominations_! Let's clear our path through of those _abominations_ and let's get out of here while we still can, and..." Jackie said...

...until he was quickly interrupted by both Rick's and Zoe's shocked expressions on their faces as they looked behind of him.

"JACKIE!" Rick shouted hastily.

"JACKIE, WATCH OUT! BEHIND OF YOU!" Zoe screamed in horror.

Jackie was a bit confused of their loud and hasty-sounding warning cries.

"What are you guys...? Watch out for what?" Jackie asked with the confused look in his faces and confused tone of voice.

However, His confused look on his faces turned into the shock as he heard the feral-sounding growling for the living fresh flesh and blood coming behind of his back, right in the level of his neck!

And by his instincts, Jackie turned around to see the walkers on its knees right behind of him...

...and the walker wasn't any walker from the newly came herd. This walker happened to be the very same white-shirted tough Savior stowaway, whom had engaged all three of them into the brutal brawl over the possession of the van and had later attempted to kill all them, along with himself, with the grenades in the van, until his attempted suicide was narrowly foiled by the trio by brutally, constantly and fatally stabbing, cutting, slashing, amputating and breaking his body from each three corner, killing him before he was able to trigger the grenade and kill them all within the wreck.

And after he was killed, they had totally forgotten him due to their plans to escape from the walkers overrunning the whole area and surrounding the wreck, and from the incoming Saviors with the intentions of to kill them and steal their goods for themselves, during of which the Savior had managed to reanimate into the walker...

...and now his undead corpse full of stabbing wounds was attacking to Jackie from behind.

Although they did not know that why he did not attack them earlier, even though that doesn't matter anymore.

The undead Savior growled at Jackie as he stretched out his grabbling undead hands - or at least his right hand after Rick chopped his left one off with Michonne's katana - toward him to grab to him and have a bite from his neck.

"HOLLY SHIT!" Jackie shouted out of shock and surprise, and by instincts he lifted his right arm up to block the Savior walker's attack with its teeth onto his neck and attempted to lift his left arm's Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser" up to shoot at the walker to the head.

However, the walker grabbed from his right arm and pulled it between of its jaws and sunked its teeth into his arm's flesh... to the bone!

"AAAARGH! FUCK!" Jackie bellowed out of pain he felt in his arm, as the Savior walker started to maul his arm even more with its teeth!

And due to the instincts caused by the wave of pain that spreaded all over of Jackie's body from the bite area in his left arm, his left hand's finger on the trigger of his left arm's Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser" pressed the weapon's trigger and triggered his shotgun.

And following this, a loud **BLAM!** was heard coming from Jackie's Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser" shotgun.

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **Sixteenth** **cliffhanger...**

 **Rick, Zoe and Jackie** **are desperately preparing for their risky and suicidal-looking escape from the wrecked van surrounded by the walkers and at the same time to ensure that the goods they're forced to left behind will not fall into the Savior's hands. But now there's over eighty fresh Saviors with the larger firepower against them... and now, Jackie got bitten by the reanimated Savior they beat in the struggle in the fourteenth chapter.**

 **What will happen next, we'll see it the next time.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya in the next time... probably after Christmas.**


	17. Chapter 17: Escape From the Van

**CHAPTER 17: ESCAPE FROM THE VAN!**

 _ **Text in the last chapter has been a little edited in some points to make this chapter.**_

Outside of the wrecked van...

As Helen's and Big Ben's united Savior forces prepared to vipe out the herd from around of the wrecked van with their superior firepower, all of their attentions were suddenly caught by the loud sounds that sounded like the warning cries coming from inside of the wrecked van, causing the Saviors to turn their attention away from the walkers to the wrecked vehicle between of them and the herd.

"JACKIE!" Somebody shouted within the vehicle with the hasty tone of voice.

"JACKIE, WATCH OUT! BEHIND OF YOU!" Someone, the woman, screamed in the van with the horrified tone.

"HOLLY SHIT!" A third person shouted within the wrecked van, this time with the badly shocked and surprised tone of voice.

The such of cries also caught Helen's and Big Ben's attentions from the walkers to the van.

Due to not knowing that what was going on inside of the van, Helen turned her attention to Big Ben with the questioning expression on her face.

"What's going on out there?" Helen asked from Ben with the demanding tone of voice.

"How I am supposed to know that? But whatever it is, I know that none of those cries came from my guys onboard." Big Ben rudely answered...

...as he realized, after hearing all those three differend-sounding, one of which was at least a woman, cries coming from the wrecked van none of which he recognized as the voices of two of his own men, of whom he had witnessed from the driver's seat of his car jumping off their bikes aboard of the moving van and getting into the struggle with the three fugitives onboard of the van, before it dfrifted from the heavy gunfire off the road and flew over the steep hill and crush-landed into the forest in the ditch. And yet during of their investigation of the wreckage before the herd emerged from the woods, Randall had reported to him that one of those men that jumped onboard of the van during the case had got himself impaled by one of the sharp shards of the van's destroyed windscreen, while there was no sight of the another one.

And those three loud gunshots of shotgun he had heard coming from inside of the van before he and his guys had came down from the road to investigate the wreckage, they had told him that some of the fugitives and at least one of his guys had survived from the crash and that there had been presumably the brawl going on inside of the van...

...and he was also sure that he had heard some other cries and sounds of the brawl coming from the van, but he couldn't hear them clearly due to the distance and the van's on its left side overturned position...

...but now, after hearing all the cries from the van, none of which he didn't recognize as the voice of his from the crash survived guy, Ben was fully aware that at least three of the fugitives had survived from the both crash and brawl, and that his own guy had probably got killed.

but before he got time to share this to Helen, the previous cries were soon followed by even louder "AAAARGH! FUCK!" cry, which sounded like the cry out of pain, which was nowdays heard only when somebody had got surprised/ambushed and bitten by the walkers...

...which was immediately followed by the loud " **BLAM!** "coming out from the van, which sounded like somebody had just fired with the loaded shotgun.

The loud gunshot got nearly all the Saviors to turn their weapons from the walkers to the wreckage, expecting some short of resistance and preparing to open the fire to eliminate it at once...

...which was the **bad** mistake from them in the presence of the slowly but certainly and menacingly approaching herd of walkers, who had reached too close of the Saviors lines to attack, mostly due to the confusion among the Saviors, that disturbed their focus on the undead and halted their fire too long, caused by the cries from within of the van.

"WOW! LOOK OUT!" Someone of the Saviors standing still on the road shouted the warning cry to Helen's and Ben's groups after seeing that the walkers increasingly denser getting herd had reached too close of them from the each side of the wreckage and from all around of the woods around of them...

...and it also provoked the Savior, that had shouted the warning cry, to direct the other Saviors, except of those ones with the rocket and grenade launchers and RPG:s to protect their own fellow Saviors flanks - flanks only - by opening their fire at the walkers approaching them from both of their sides, while those ones using miniguns loaded onboard of the ATV vehicles or carried ones and Browning M1919A4 machine guns to focus their fire to the middle and backside of the incoming herd.

The Savior's sudden warning cry - along with the herd's loud growling for the fresh flesh and blood and suddenly started loud gunfire - snapped Helen out of her thoughts about the wreckage and that what was happening inside of there.

She was also about to turn to her men on the road to see and to demand the explanation to the sudden shooting - and probably to berate her men for opening the fire without her direct order and for now causing every walker in the entire district to head towards their location - until her attention was caught by her own group of the Saviors standing alongside of her, who were about to receive the walkers lethal embrace...

...and to her shock and anger, almost none of them paid any attention to the walkers, not even when the first ones of the herd had already raised and extended their dead hands towards her men to grab on them and opened their jaws full of filthy and undead-bacteria filled teeth to strike them on their necks!

"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THOSE UNDEAD FUCKS ARE UPON YOU AND YOU'RE STILL STANDING THERE LIKE THE FUCKING DEAF HEADLESS CHICKENS?! DON'T JUST STAND THERE LIKE AND IDIOTS BUT SHOOT THEM!" Helen angrily screamed to her men

Even though the Saviors were snapped out of their thoughts, which were locked either into the wreckage but mostly at incoming herd of walkers as they waited - while slowly backing off to keep a safe distance away from the walkers - for the order to open the fire, by their fellow Savior's warning cry, the sudden gunfire, however, had caught most of their attentions away from the herd right at the moment when the walkers were about to strike.

Hearing the walkers growling in the next or in front of their faces had snapped them out of it once again and made the Saviors to turn their full attention from everything else into the walkers.

But, however, the Saviors very first reaction to the walkers standing so, so, so, so lethally close of them and the consequences were very catastrophic.

The walkers already lunged at the Saviors standing in the first lines in the groups of dozen walkers, grabbing to them from their clothes or arms with their dead, rotten, but iron-griped arms and sinking their teeth into the Saviors arms, shoulders, necks and faces, either tearing out the mouthful of flesh or mauling their faces into unrecognizable. Their weight also pushed them over to the ground and the cries of pain lured even more walkers to feast with the dying Saviors' flesh from their stomachs and legs, burrying them alive under of the sea of undead.

In the case of some Saviors, the walkers being too close caused some few of them to go in panic-state that they jumped hastily and in panic backwards to get far away from the incoming walkers, but they accidentally plunged onto the other Saviors that were standing behind of them, knocking in each time two or even three Saviors down with them. And while lying on the ground, with their guns out of their reach and struggling in haste and panic to get on their feet, they were an easy targets for the incoming walkers.

Some of them attempted to open their fire on the walkers, though there was not enough the space in front of them to lift their weapons to the level of their heads to shoot the walkers to death, but out of the shockingly surprising sight of the walkers' dead, rotten, swollen and mutilated faces right in front of their own caused them reflexively to press their weapons triggers down and shoot the first shots onto the walkers legs and their rapid automatic gunfire or even more devastating shots from their shotguns totally destroying or brutally amputating the walkers legs, making them to fall on their stomaches to the ground...

...however, that didn't finish them off yet, as the severely crippled walkers kept approaching the Saviors by crawling against the ground, while the Saviors had turned their attentions foolishly from finishing them off to other dangerously close of them reaching and attacking walkers, causing them to fire in haste and panic to their upper bodies, thighs and legs instead of their heads. This distraction proved to be an great advantage to the walkers, as they eventually managed to grab from the Saviors legs with their reaching dead hands, wrapping and locking their death fingers tightly around of the Saviors legs before pulling themselves closer to place the mouthful area of the Saviors legs between of their jaws and sunk their teeth through of their pants into the flesh, ripping off a significant portion of flesh and skin.

Even one Savior was attacked like this by two-four walkers, who tore the flesh off their legs bones, making from the pain crying Saviors to fall on their backs to the ground, after which they were soon swarmed, pinned down and feasted by other incoming walkers.

At least half of the entire group of Saviors faced the terrible fate at the teeth of the walkers... including, Michael from Big Ben's group, as the Savior was groaning and shouting out of sheer pain as he crawled away from the walkers, while two-three walkers were at the moment savagely mauling his left leg while Michael dragged them along with his mauled and doomed leg.

However, all the remaining ones of the group of Saviors were quick enough to back off and separate from those ones whom had gotten attacked and bitten by the walkers, watching helplessly, or recklessly due to them selfishly thinking of their own lives, how their comrades were desperately begging for help while they were slowly ripped into pieces.

"FUCKING DAMNED! DON'T JUST STAND THERE LIKE THE FUCKING HEADLESS CHICKENS TO BE OFFERED IN THE PLATES! GET YOUR FUCKING GUNS UP IN THE FUCKING LEVEL OF THEIR FUCKING HEADS AND SHOOT THEM TO FUCKING DEATH!" Helen screamed extra-angrily and took out her Remington 870 Police Magnum and started coldly and blidnly blast the walkers skulls and brains with every shot.

And with that, all remaining Saviors, noww when they had enough room space in front of them after backing off away from the incoming herd, lifted their weapons up into the level of their heads and opened the fire at the walkers.

Most of their shots still hit to the walkers upper bodies in the area of their shoulders and chest nonetheless and the shots merely knocked the walkers either back onto the others coming from behind or knocked them over to the ground, but at least a bit less than half of the shots hit directly to the walkers heads and brains.

By firing with their guns at the herd like this, the Saviors were both halting the herd's advance slightly - though the shots fired with the shotguns from the close distance caused even more devastation among of the walkers - but also killing at the same time a dozen of walkers every five-ten seconds.

"BURN THEM!" Somebody shouted...

...and with that, either two or four Saviors with the flame throwers gathered in the two groups of two and opened the fire upon the walkers, mostly aiming them to their areas of heads and legs, burning a large punch of them, though even burnt the herd still kept advancing.

Also Ben's group joined to the gunfight.

The garbageman Greg took out the minigun in his hands, after his previous firearm had ran out of ammo, and slowly moving the minigun to the left to the right and slowwly lifting it up in the proces, Greg wiped out the great number of walkers from the wrecked van's backside's side.

And Randall himself had taken from one of the reinforcement Savior Norinco Type 56-1 rifle to replace his Remington 750 semiatomatic rifle for a while, with which cleared the way to the wreckage and climbed onto its overturned driving cabin to fire the walkers from above, because from there it didn't matter to where and how opened the fire at the walkers, whose herd was so dense that missing their weak spots (heads) was impossible.

However, in the case of Big Ben...

"Fucking damned!" Big Ben cursed, as one of the walkers was about to attack him, and he let out even more fouler curse after finding out that his own Smith & Wesson M&P handguns had already run out of the ammo... and the walkers were still incoming...

...until Big Ben noticed one of Helen's men armed with M249 Paratrooper SAW and he was carrying a couple of Remington Model 870 Compact shotguns in their sheaths that were tied in X-position to his backs.

So, throwing away his own handguns...

"Give me those fucking toys!" Big Ben rudely said as he forcibly took M249 Paratrooper SAW and both Remington Model 870 Compact from the Savior into his own posession, leaving the Saviors nearly defenseless, with the exception of the knife and small handgun on his belty, in front of the walkers.

"And get the fucking out of my way!" Ben added as he rudelly and without remorse pushed the Savior out of his way and towards for him incoming walkers, whom definitely lost their interest of Big Ben and started to swarm around of the Savior Ben just sacrificed to them, pinning him forcibly down and feasting with his body.

This wasn't left unnoticed by Helen, who stared Ben with the despising and yet disgusted look from the corner of her eye for getting one of her own men killed for the selfish reasons... but because of the approaching walkers, Helen was unable to do or say anything but kept her attention in shooting the walkers.

And with a new weapons in his possession, Ben opened the fire upon the incoming walkers as well.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of the wrecked van...

Jackie was still struggling for his dear life with the Savior, now reanimated as a walker, who was still savagely mauling his right arm - which Jackie had pulled in between of him and the walker to protect himself from the walker Savior's filthy zombie-bacteria filled teeth - attempting at the same time to pour even more flesh outta Jackie's arm into its mouth while pulling its head backwards to rip off the remarkably large piece of flesh.

Jackie had also attempted to shoot the Savior walker to death with his Mossberg 590 "Compact Cruiser" before it had attacked to his arm after its reanimation, though he never got the chance to fire at the walker's head before it had struck its teeth onto Jackie's arm...

...and the wave of pain triggered the reflexes of Jackie's finger to press down the trigger of his shotgun an fire at the Savior walker, though the shotgun's devastating shot tore brutally through of the right side of the walker's body, with no the lethal effect to the already dead Savior.

And after one shot, the Savior walker proceed to push even harder and with the brutal force forward, moving even more onto Jackie while pushing him backwards and pinning him on his back to the overturned wrecked van's left side wall with its own weight...

...even unknowingly placing its right dead arm over of Jackie's gun and pinning it down as well, unknowingly preventing Jackie from using it on him again...

...and forcing Jackie to release his grip from the weapon and use it instead trying to push the walker off him enough to move his legs beneath of the walker's stomach to kick him off, but the walker Savior's animalistic behavior, lust for the flesh and blood, and mostly his big size and weight, were all together against Jackie's best efforts to free himself from him...

...and yet the efforts made Jackie to groan even louder out of pain as he felt the Savior walker hardening its bite force around of his arm and nearly to the bone, as well as tearing even more flesh outta his arm.

"STAY STILL, JACKIE! DON'T MOVE!" Jackie heard Rick shouting to him, whch caught his attention from the walker Savior at Rick...

...who moved to his and the walker's right side, holding the katana in his hands like preparing to slash the walker with it.

And Zoe moved next to him as well, holding the thick branch in her arms, which she quickly placed between of the walker and Jackie, with its another end taking support from the ground in Jackie's and the walker's left side, thus a bit confusing Jackie that what they were doing.

"READY?" Rick asked from Zoe as he looked at her direction, before Zoe gave to him a quick nod as a positive answer.

"EYSTO LISTO! I'M READY!" Zoe said yet after nodding to Rick with both in her natural language and in english.

"LET'S THEN DO THIS QUICKLY!" Rick said, after which Zoe nodded at him before she quickly moved herself down like giving to Rick some space to do what he was about to do with the katana...

...and even though Rick wasn't as skilled with the katana as Michonne was, following the memories of Michonne's swordplay skills he had witnessed in the past while dealing with the walkers, Rick pulled the katana's long blade to his right side, before he pulled it with all his strength in the lateral arch towards the narrow space between of struggling Jackie and the reanimated Savior...

...and before Jackie eventually realized that what Rick was about to do, Jackie nearly reacted to this by pulling his blood-covered - and fatally wounded from the Savior walker's teeth - arm out of the katana's blade's way to avoid getting amputated by Rick, until he eventually remembered the walker, of who he was holding back away from his faces with the very same arm and instead halted himself from pulling his arm away from between of him and the Savior walker...

...before he felt the cold and sharp blade cutting through of his arm from above of his right elbow, thus causing Jackie to let out the loud cry in pain after his arm was forcibly amputated by Rick's katana...

...and after Jackie's from the Savior walker's teeth wounded part of the arm was separated from the rest of his body, Zoe quickly jumped upwards and, with the help of Rick, she pulled the branch upwards with all her strength.

And with the help of the branch, Rick and Zoe managed to lift the Savior walker off from Jackie and make him to roll away from the trio, though after which the walker didn't mind about the trio's presence in the same space but had its full focus onto eating Jackie's separated arm.

However, Rick wasn't going to take the risk that the undead thing would eventually remember to be in the same space along with them and would sense their presence from the scent of their living flesh and blood or from Jackie's groanings in pain...

...so Rick proceed to jump over of Jackie and grab from one of Jackie's dropped shotgun from the ground, of which he then used to kill the Savior once and for all by crushing it's skull and brains many times over with the stern of the shotgun, until the creature was totally dead.

And as Rick rushed to finish off the Savior walker for good, Zoe meanwhile rushed to Jackie's side to tend his forcibly amputated arm.

"AARGH! HE CUT OFF MY ARM! - AARGH! - THAT FUCKING PRICK - AARGH! - CUT OFF MY ARM! I'M GONNA - AARGH! - i'M GONNA CUT OFF HIS FUCKING HEAD - ARGH! - IN RETURN FOR CUTTING OFF MY FUCKING ARM!" Jackie cried in between of groanings in pain.

However, unlike Jackie did at the moment, Zoe fully understood that Rick did what he had to do to save Jackie's life from the fate that was far more terrible fate than even death itself... to be one of those _abominations_.

Zoe also had herself ended up into the similar situations during of her life since the beginning of the everything of this... and that there was many Street dogs in the Dog House, that had gone through the forcibly done amputations after getting the bite from those _abominations_ to those body parts, which were able to be amputated to save the bitten victim's life.

And zoe fully understood that such an experience was always initially difficult for those who had not yet experienced the kind of, Jackie being one of those.

"Oh, shut your trap and quit moaning like somekind of cry baby, Jackie! One lost hand does not mean the End of the World." Zoe scolded Jackie with the old sarcastic saying, even though that saying didn't matter anymore in this a new reality, which indeed happened to be the End of the World.

"Besides, you should show some gratitude to Rick for cutting off with that _abomination_ -infection filled arm instead of threatening to return in favor of killing him, or would have you wanted to become one of those _abominations_ like that Savior-asshole did?" Zoe, a bit mockingly/sarcastically questioned the fellow Street dog, as she took out a few of long-sleeved shirts, two-three of which she wrapped over and around of Jackie's right arm's stump to halt at least most of the bleeding 'till they get to their community's doctor, and made from rest of two long-sleeved shirts the homemade arm sling, which long sleeves she tied together behind of Jackie's neck.

"Let's hope that that holds bleeding long enough to get you to Dr. Joshua!" Zoe said, as she yet checked for second time the ties that they were firmly and tightly tied around of Jackie's arm.

"Ow!" Jackie moaned as the stump of his right arm still stung painfully.

"So much for the patrol duties in my case. I can't participate to the hand-to-hand combats as one-handed poor bastard. My father most certainly removes me from the patrol duties and dispatch me to the dead-boring guarding duty on the wall of the Dog House." Jackie complained as he mourned the loss of his good hand and the results of it.

And while Zoe was tending Jackie's arm, Rick took the concerned glance around of them.

Rick saw that the dozens and dozens of the walkers all around of the wreckage were either falling over to the ground after getting the direct headshot from the Saviors guns and some of them were torn apart by the gunfire of the Saviors shotguns, miniguns and larger machine guns, thus causing the dense number of the herd to decrease explosively, even though there was even more and more coming out of the woods...

...and those ones, whom were not shot down by the Saviors, were accidentally attracted by Jackie's cries alternately in surprise/shock and pain, and the walkers were now about to move into the overturned van's backside space through of the large hole in its roof.

And looking to the direction of the overturned van's back doors, Rick saw that the several of the Saviors were approaching to the another side of the overturned van by walking in the lines over of the dead or from the gunfire mutilated yet still living walkers corpses and keeping firing at the incoming walkers...

They needed to get out of here!

It was now or never!

And they needed also to destroy the wreckage and the remaining goods inside of it to prevent them to fall into the hands of the Saviors.

"Zoe! It's time to go and execute the plan. Grab some weapon to yourself and create the gap in middle of the walkers and get out of here. I try to buy to you some time by holding off the Saviors for a while and then I'll come after you." Rick said, as he placed his axe and his faithful Colt Python revolver to hang from his belt, after which he placed Michonne's katana onto his back along with one of the DefTech 37mm launchers and along with the one of the three bags, after which he then grabbed from the van's armory to himself M60 weapon as his firearm against the Saviors.

However, almost immediately, Zoe protested against Rick's words.

"No way, Rick! What if you're caught into the firefight with the Saviors, who have superior numbers against you amd who got a lots of better toys and we have ourself just a couple of DefTech 37mm launchers. Besides, what if you ran out of ammo with your gun that you end up to have no enough of ammo - nor even time to reload the weapon - to use your ammonation to those _abominations_ outside of the van to escape from here. That means that you'll get trapped into the van and be killed by those _abominations_ or else you probably get yourself caught by the Saviors along with the goods to be left behind if you're not killed by those _abominations_ , unless you're planning to commit suicide by blowing up yourself along with the van." Zoe protested with the voice of reason.

"And so, were not leaving you here, Rick. Of course we do not do this because of your quest to have your black bitch back but we do this because of one of the Street dogs laws, which concerns all the Street dogs that no one will be left behind. And because we're all three in the bad situation together, we also find our way out of this together. We buy some time for all three of us together and then escape out of here together. Let there be trust and willingess for the teamwork between of us or not, due to all three of us having to fight against the common enemy, those fucking Saviors" Zoe added...

...as she placed one of their three bags on her back, along with Winchester Model 70 sniper rifle, just in case, and grabbed as her weapon from the van's armory M4A1 Carbine, to which had been attached M203 Grenade Launcher. Zoe also took the weapon belt with dual Para-Ordnance Nite-Tac pistols hanging in their sheaths and machete for the close combat against both the walkers and the Saviors.

After hearing one of the Street dogs laws of leaving no one behind and Zoe's willingess to do teamwork with him - with or without the trust between of them - to get out of here and fight the Saviors she called their "common enemy" somehow touched Rick...

...though Rick was even more touched of seeing and witnessing Zoe's willingess for the teamwork with the strangers like him, if it meant fighting against the Saviors, which seemed to be her the most wanted desire, and for the reason.

"Alright then! Let's then do it... together!" Rick said then, as he placed one of the bags

And after that, Jackie also got himself up from the ground, though still grunting and groaning out of still stinging pain in his amputated arm.

"Yeah, whatever... anything for the chance to kill those motherfucking Saviors for sending us to this situation." Jackie said, as he stubbornly got up on one of his knees and placed one of the bags onto his back along with another launcher, after which he grabbed from the armory the reloaded tripple-barreled shotgun as his weapon.

Both Zoe and Rick attempted to help Jackie, after seeing that Jackie had a bit problems to even stand up - probably the side effect due to the amputation of his arm and for some minor blood loss, as the long-sleeved shirts used as a bandages to tied around of the stump of Jackie's right arm had started to slowly give up, as the shirt's colors had started to turn into red due to the blood and some drops were pushing through of the shirts, even though they were tied into three layers around the stump of Jackie's arm...

...but Jackie stubbornly pushed off their arms, refusing to accept any help for himself because of his firm grib from the Street dogs laws concerning of showing the strength instead of weakness.

"Save your pity and willingess to help me. The real Street dog doesn't need the help to survive, which is the sign of weakness. Even wounded, the real Street dog is capable to hold his own against the pain and those motherfucking Saviors." Jackie declared firmly.

"Just let's get the fucking out of here." Jackie demanded.

Both Rick and Zoe answered to this with both the grin and nod.

"Definitely. But first, we need a more cover from the walkers and give to those Saviors something else to think about before we can." Rick said, as he turned his M60 gun at the Saviors legs in front of the place of the van's back doors.

"With the pleasure, Jackie." Zoe said, as she turned to the van's driver's cabin and pointed her M4A1 Carbine from between of Driver's and passanger's seaths at the approaching Saviors legs in front of the destroyed windscreen...

...where the dead Savior, of whom Jackie had fought until he had got killed by being impaled by one sharp-tipped shatter of the windscreen class during of the crash, had now reanimated as a walker and was snarling out of lust for the fresh living flesh and blood as it tried to reach with its dead arms at Zoe.

Zoe, without the hesitation and fearing that the walker's behavior and loud snarling would reveal herself to the Saviors - though it was abvious that the Saviors were aware of her and her companions being still alive after the crash and from the brutal struggle with the Savior inside of the van, immediately opened the fire at the Saviors legs.

The Saviors were taken by the element of surprise as Zoe fired the volley of bullets at their legs - and one of the stray bullets hit at the reanimated Savior's head, killing him instantly - crippling all three of them standing in front of the shattered wind screen and causing them to fall over to the ground, crying out of pain they felt in their legs and presumably forcing the others behind of the van's front side to fall back.

Rick also opened the fire at the approaching Saviors legs behind of the overturned van at the same time as Zoe opened the fire in the front side of the van.

Though the Saviors attentions were caught by the first shots from Zoe's gun, they were soon caught under of gunfire at Rick's hands, as the volley of bullets flew out of the van and bloodily crippled the six Savior's legs, causing them all fall over to the ground...

...during of which, the seventh Savior, who was standing a small distance away from the van's back doors place and behind of the group of Saviors - who had avoided getting shot and crippled by Rick's gunfire - attempted to turn his gun at Rick and shoot him after getting the one glance at him...

...but having seen the Savior a much earlier than what the Savior did, Rick lifted his M60 upwards and fired at the Savior's stomach the round of bullets, killing the Savior instantly, after which the Savior briefly pressed by reflexes from the trigger of his gun and fired the brief round of shots to the ground, before he fell onto his back to the ground, dead.

The remaining walkers of the herd, which was getting once again dense after the Saviors presumably halted their fire once again and each with the headshot killed or from the gunfire mutilated walker of the herd was replaced by two fresh walkers, approaching from every corner the fallen crippled Saviors...

...who immediately opened the fire at the approaching walkers while attempting to crawl away, ignoring the pain from the multiple gunshot wounds in their legs. Even though they managed to kill a few of the walkers, most of their bullets hit to the walkers thighs and stomachs rather than their heads, thus causing the Saviors to waste a good number of their ammo before they eventually run out of their ammo completely...

...thus allowing both the walking and along the ground crawling walkers to reach upon the Saviors, swarming each one of them from every corner, pinning them against the ground by their herd's weight while sinking their teeth to the Saviors limps, stomachs, shoulders, necks and heads as they started to feast with out of the devastating pain screaming Savior's flesh.

Some of the surrounded and inevitable death facing Saviors refused to live through of being eaten alive by the walkers before getting killed - or refused to go down without the fight - either grabbed to their handguns and fired with them at the walkers...

...or then they decided to commit suicide by placing their weapons pipes against their temples - or into their mouths - before shooting themselves to death before getting bitten and devoured alive by the walkers.

To get the van's backside to be overrun by the walkers once more to have more walkers to cover them and buy more time for their escape, Rick took the risk and showed up from behind of the overturned van's floor to outside and opened the fire upon the Saviors legs...

...thus causing the badly surprised Saviors to rapidly back off from their lines to avoid themselves getting shot...

...and Rick also lifted his gun above of the Savior group behind of the van and opened the fire upon the Saviors and their vehicles and trucks at the hillside and on the road, killing at least five Saviors more from the group on the hillside - including one Savior onboard of one of their military trucks and armed with Browning M1919A4 machine gun with the direct headshot - and forcing most Saviors of both groups to run into cover, which briefly halt their gunfire, which allowed the walkers to approach them in the dense way

And while Rick and Zoe were gealing with the first approaching Saviors, Jackie fired with his tripple-barreled shotgun at each walker, who dared to enter into the van.

Carrying the heavy weapon with one left arm brought some difficulties to him, due to the fact that his left arm wasn't as good as his right arm, though Jackie was good to wield, aim and fire the handguns with his left arm nonetheless...

...and in the case of the triple-barreled shotgun, Jackie picked up his targets carefully and took some period of time to ensure that his aim with the shotgun was both right and lethal against the walkers before actually firing at them.

One shot he fired through of the walker's head, killing it, as it attempted to grab to Zoe from behind and strike its teeth onto her neck.

Another shot he had aimed at the walker, who attempted to attack Rick from his right flank while Rick was dealing with the Saviors in the back of the van.

Though Jackie was still angry at Rick for the latter amputating with katana his arm against his own will, and yet even considered for a while of allowing the walker to attack Rick as a revenge for his amputation, Jackie eventually - though reluctantly and with the frustration - decided against it and shot with his another shot the walker's left leg off, thus causing the walker to fall on its left side to the ground, before it rolled on its stomach to the ground and kept approaching Rick by crawling along the ground.

Without even attempt to finish off the walker with the headshot, Jackie then turned his weapon and the last shot towards the walker, that was crawling towards him snarling out of its desire for the living flesh...

...and as the walker was close of him enough, Jackie quickly placed the triple-barreled shotguns barrels into the walker's mouth and lifted his shotgun holding arm and the walker's head upwards as well to halt the walker's approaching and get perfect shot at the walker's brains.

"Eat lead you motherfucking _abomination_!" Jackie said as he fired the last shot through fo the walker's head, blowing the walker's brains out through of its occipital side, along with the shatters of the walker's skull, the small pieces of brain and the flesh and a lots of blood, killing it.

And after using all three shots of the weapon, Jackie threw it away and took from the van's armory Heckler & Koch MP5A3 submachine gun.

"Are you guys finished with your goddamned business out there? If you are, then shall we finally get the hell out of here before we all ran out of fucking ammo?!" Jackie called for the others, as he aimed his submachine gun at the incoming walkers.

After he had finished, both Rick and Zoe turned to him.

"The Saviors are down with twelve more in numbers, and the rest have halted their fire and ran into cover. And because of this, the herd is once again densening around of the van and getting even closer of the Saviors ranks, getting their attention from the van into the purging the area from the walkers. I think that we probably have enough of walkers to cover our escape against their own gunfire." Rick said.

"Then let's put our plan into action." Zoe said, as he turned her gun at the approaching walkers in front of them, aiming at them to their heads.

Rick and Jackie did the same thing by lifting their own weapons up, aiming at the walkers heads.

"Remember, just a small gap in middle of the herd, but wide enough for us to avoid the walkers ourselves. Zoe, you go first and clear the path for the rest of us, and Jackie, you guard her back and shoot any walker who attempts to attack her from her flanks or from behind and do not bother to shoot at the walkers behind of us because we need most of them as a cover. I'll come right behind you, and leave the walkers behind of us to me, because I need some gap to blow up the van. And Zoe, because you have M203 Grenade Launcher attached on your M4A1 Carbine, on my signal, we'll turn blow up the Saviors vehicles and the van with all our launchers. Do you got it?" Rick asked after reminding both Zoe and Jackie about some details of their escape plan before opening the fire at the walkers.

Jackie was immediately about to protest after seeing that Rick was apparently taking the leader's role over of them.

"And who did put you in charge... OUCH!" Jackie asked, until Zoe quickly silenced him with the quickl yet fiery and painful slap against his right cheek.

"Got it, Rick." Zoe quickly answered, with the acception of Rick's leadership over her and Jackie... for now at least.

"Good! Let's do it!" Rick said an opened the fire at the walkers... and so did Jackie and Zoe.

The trio's combined gunfire flew through of the walkers heads and slaughtered dozens of the walkers within the seconds, creating in middle of them to some distance away from the wreckage reaching gap, which was small yet wide enough for all three of them to go successively through.

The trio then briefly halted their fire.

"NOW! MOVE! LET'S GO THROUGH BEFORE THE WALKERS CLOSE THE GAP AGAIN!" Rick signaled to the others...

...and with that, the trio immediately jumped on their feet and rushed out of the wrecked van through of the hole in the van's backside's ceiling, after which they immediately rushed into the gap they created in middle of the walkers.

Zoe rushed in the head of the trio, cleaning the path through of the herd for her and Jackie and Rick by firing with her M4A1 Carbine at the walkers, who were either standing on their path or were about to reach them with their dead hands, killing dozens of them as she fired with her weapon to the level of the walkers heads, without halting/stopping her going onward.

Jackie rushed right behind of her, guarding both of Zoe's flanks for her, when the latter was too busy to clean path for them, by firing at the walkers heads alternately from both sides with his Heckler & Koch MP5A3, killing a small lines of three-four walkers on his way.

And Rick followed right behind of Jackie.

And the first thing he did after getting out of the van and getting a small distance away from the van with the others, Rick briefly turned around and lifted his gun up to the level of the heads to clean the path to the van from the several walkers, so that he could be able to fire the grenade with the launcher inside of the van to blow everything inside...

...however, the first thing he saw was Randall standing on the overturned van's right side, firing down at to him desperately with their dead arms reaching walkers heads with his Norinco Type 56-1 to their heads, killing many of them.

And as Randall seemed to ran out of ammo and was about to switch his weapon of choice back to his Remington 750 semiatomatic rifle, before of which he tossed the empty and useless Norinco Type 56-1 into the herd of walkers...

...Randall suddenly saw Rick and the others running away into the woods through of the herd of walkers.

"HEY! THOSE MOTHERFUCKING BASTARDS ARE TRYING TO GET AWAY WITH THE GOODS!" Randall shouted as a warning, as he attempted to reload his rifle and shoot at Rick and the others to stop them.

However, Rick reacted faster to this, using Randall's warning cry to the others as his advantage...

...as Rick quickly lifted up his M60 and fired a small round of bullets into Randall, killing him at once and knocking him off from top of the overturned van to the another side.

And after that, Rick attempted to shoot the walkers from between of him and the van to clear the path...

...until he suddenly heard Helen crying angrily from behind of the overturned van.

"KILL THOSE UNDEAD BASTARDS AND GET THOSE MOTHERFUCKING FUGITIVES, YOU FUCKING IDIOTIC COWARDS! I WANT BACK THOSE GOODS THEY'RE STEALING FROM US!" Helen cried angrily to her men.

Jackie, of course, was the very first one who protested this claim.

"They really have some guts to claim something like that! We're just saving OUR OWN goods." Jackie said sarcastically.

However, his sarcastic feeling turned into dead-serious after hearing the next angrily shouted order from Big Ben's mouth.

"ENOUGH OF BEING CAREFUL WITH ANYTHING! JUST BLOW UP THOSE UNDEAD MOTHERFUCKERS, MORE LIKELY, BLOW UP THE WHOLE FOREST DOWN WITH YOUR TOYS, BOYS!" Big Ben ordered with the angry tone.

And with that, all those Saviors with the grenade launchers, rocket launcher's and RPG's, along with the Saviors with the carried and AVT's miniguns and Browning M1919A4 machine guns opened their full devastating fire at the herd in the woods to kill Rick, Jackie and Zoe...

...while the rest of the Saviors opening their fire at Rick, Jackie and Zoe wwhile they were heading down on the hillside to join to the rest of their people in next of the overturned van to wipe out the walkers from around of the overturned van, and with the reinforcements combinet gunfire caused the devastating casualties among of the walkers around of the van.

After seeing this, Rick knew that they definitely needed some distance out of the Saviors heavier toys range.

"RU'UUUUN!" Rick cried out.

And the following moments were extremely devastating!

The heavy combined gunfire from the Saviors ATV's miniguns and from all three Browning M1919A4 machine guns in the Saviors possession created the massive line-like gaps among of the walkers dense herd as the heavy rounds of fired bullets shredded the walkers rotten heads into pieces of bloody flesh, skull and the brains.

And the gunfire coming from the Savior crew that had came onboard of their military trucks fell upon the herd of walkers like the deadly rain, with the hundreds of bulltes hitting to the walkers bodies or heads, killing them from the headshots.

But lucky for Rick, Jackie and Zoe that the large number of the walkers, that had closed the gap they had created to escape and had turned their back to the Saviors and turned to reach to the escaping trio, shielded their backs against the large amount of bullets from the Savior's guns, that merely hit to their backs and to their occipitals, thus allowing Rick, Jackie and Zoe more time to escape from the area.

And the grenades and rockets caused far more devastating damage among of the walkers all around of Rick, Jackie and Zoe, as each large explosion from the grenade and rocket killed/shredded roughly over two dozen walkers, sending dozens and dozens of from the explosion separated walker limps and other mutilated body parts to fly everywhere, and the shockwaves knocked several more walkers over to the ground.

Some of the grenades and rockets flew over of Rick and his companions and exploded in the bushes, igniting the fires that spreaded all around the woods after each explosion and some grenades and rockets even hit to the trees, and the explosions caused the trees to snap in half or knocked them off their roots...

...and the falling trees fell over upon the herd of the walkers, crushing several of them beneath of the tress heavy and heavy and thick trunks.

And while running through of the herd while shooting the walkers, Zoe eventually ran out of ammo from her gun, though she still had the one shot with her carbine's grenade launcher, which was supposed to save for Rick's encounter-attack-part of his plan...

...which forced Zoe to place her weapon to her back 'till that moment and grab to her machete, which Zoe started to swung in the lateral arches towards the walkers, targeting her machete's blade towards their necks, beheading with each swing two-three walkers as she kept clearing their path.

Both Jackie and Rick also checked their weapons, and saw that they were soon running out of ammo as well, and that there was no time to take their weapons ammonation magazines from their bags and reload their weapons.

But despite that, Rick turned at times around to fire with his gun at the Saviors on the hillside and on the vehicles to force them to both scatter and get into the cover, and so did Jackie.

Even though the densely grown trees blocked most of Rick's and Jackie's as well as the Saviors shots against each others and keeping moving due to the approaching and towards them reaching walkers bothered their aim greatly, some of Rick's and Jackie's combinet gunfire foud their targets.

Despite the trees and being on the move, Rick's and Jackie's combined gunfire managed to kill at least one dozen of Saviors on the hillside with the one single or couple of lethal hits to their upper bodies, including two Saviors wielding the miniguns loaded onto ATV vehicles with the clear headshots, while it provoked the others to hurry either down the hill or to the cover wherever they found the one against their bullets.

And some of them even with the devastating consequences...

...as one of either Rick's or Jackie's stray bullets hit straight into the head of one Savior with the rocket launcher on his shoulder, which knocked him over on his back to the ground, and during of falling backwards to the ground, the Savior pressed by reflexes his launcher's trigger down, thus firing two-three remaining rockets towards their military trucks...

...and when the first one of the rockets hit to one of the the trucks loaded with the guns, ammonation, the explosives and extra gas along with three Browning M1919A4 machine guns and three Saviors wielding them, it exploded instantly from the single impact, thus heavily damaging the left side of the truck and killing at the same time all three Saviors still onboard with their...

...and the explosion also knocked the truck to lean sharply to its right, which allowed next two rockets to fly to its underside, and the following double explosion both damaged the truck even more heavily and knocked the entire large vehicle against two cars parked behind of it...

...and all three vehicles flew off the road and rolled down the other hillside, before the flames of the truck reached to the trucks load of ammonation, explosives and extra gas, thus causing all three wrecked vehicles to explode into the large flash of flames.

Another Savior with dual grenade launchers was caught by the round of bullets from Rick's and Jackie's combine fire, that ran across his upper body, thus knocked him over on his back to the ground, and during of the Saviors's a few minutes time of living, the wave of pains triggered the Savior reflexes to press with his fingers, which were placed over the launchers triggers, the triggers down, which caused the Savior to shoot the grenades all around of him.

First two he accidentally fired down at his own by reflexes triggered by the waves of pain.

The first grenade landed in middle of the the right flank of the entire group of the Saviors in the next of overturned van's front side, which exploded before anyone around of it, who managed to see it to land on their feet, managed to react in time and the explosions brutally mutilated and killed seven Saviors while it knocked some Savioes over to the ground or tossed some of them aside...

...while another landed in middle of the front lines of the herd of walkers that were approaching at them firing Saviors, and this explosion also mutilated all the walkers, dead and still living ones, in the front lines of the herd, thus tossing both mutilated, dead or still living walkers over the Saviors, who were also knocked over to the ground by the explosion.

And as the Savior fell over on his back to the ground, he kept firing the grenades with his launchers uncontrollably to his opposite sides as his arms spreaded to the wide, thus causing even more damage... to the Saviors vehicles

The Savior fired one of the grenades to his left side, which accidentally flew bellow of Big Ben's own to the edge of the road parked vehicle, which was then destroyed in the grenade large explosion, which raw force was powerful enough to knock Jackie's destroyed and flaming vehicle off the road...

...during of which from the explosion wrecked vehicle knocked on its way three on the hillside still standing and at the fleeing trio firing Saviors off their feets, who then landed roughly on their stomachs nearly to the feet of the hillside before the flying vehicle landed right onto them, thus crushing all three Saviors to death under of its weight, before the vehicle proceed by rolling down the remaining of the hillside, which provoked all other Saviors on its way to flee out of the rolling vehicle's way for their lives.

The Savior's uncontrollably fired grenades flew also at the Saviors ATV vehicles, four of which were completely destroyed in the grenades explosions and killed all four Saviors, who were still onboard of the ATV vehicles wielding the miniguns, before they could even react to the grenades.

...and next two fired grenades flew onto the Saviors remaining military truck's platform full of guns, ammonation, explosives and extra gas as the first one, all of which was destroyed/exploded along with the expplosions of the grenades, which destroyed the entire upper side of the large vehicle and the goods, thus killing all two unlucky Saviors still onboard of the truck.

And two others the Savior fired to his right side, where the most of their vehicles were standing. The grenades flew bellow of the Saviors cars and bikes, and the following triple-explosions destroyed most of the Saviors vehicles completely unusable and knocked some of them over, though in flames and partially damaged.

And after that, both Rick and Jackie eventually ran out of ammo from their guns, which they immediately threw away.

But, however, after doing so, the trio immediately realized that they had reached to the another side of the herd, where was only a few dozens of to the wide area gathered walkers, who didn't seem to mind of the trio in middle of them...

...as the even louder sounding explosions had drawn the entire herd's full attention away from the trio and to the larger group of still at the walkers firing Saviors back at the overturned van.

Trio stopped instantly their running after realizing this, and turned their eyes towards the road full of the destroyed and flaming Savior vehicles...

...and Zoe leaped onto the nearby standing large rock to oversee the Saviors situation behind of the herd of walkers.

"The herd's full attention is on the Saviors and the remaining ones at the vehicles and on the hillside seems to join to the rest of the Saviors in behind of our overturned vehicle. The entire group is in once place." Zoe said after eyeing the Savior's situation and and before leaping down off the rock to join Rick and Jackie.

"Good! Then it's time to destroy the remains of both the overturned van and the Saviors." Rick declared.

* * *

Back at the overturned van...

While the remaining fifty-four Saviors were either still gunning (and burning with their remaining flamethrowers) dozens and dozens of a new the incoming walkers down, recovering from the stray grenade's explosion in their right flank or checking their deaths (though there was only rare of Saviors who actually did that)...

...both Big Ben and Helen were eyeing in the background with the devastated looks in their faces at the destruction of all of their goods, all their guns and ammonation, most of their vehicles and the heavy casualties in numbers.

Big Ben was much more devastated of the destruction of his vehicle, which was lying in the feet of the hillside - right in front of him - under of the heavy damage from the explosion and was at the moment in the flames... includin gthe machone gun tha twas mounted onto the vehicle's platform.

"Oh, no! OH, NO! Not my ride! I just got it back from maintenance!" Big Ben complained loudly over the loss of his car, which had probably been in Ben's possession before the beginning of the apocalypse.

And Helen herself was devastated over the major casualties of her patrol, which she had originally brough here to wipe out the walkers... only to face the heavy resistance in the form of three... JUST THREE... person within the wrecked overturned van.

"They... they... they've... they've... They've destroyed most of my patrol's vehicles, most of my goods and guns and even majority of my entire patrol!" Helen cried with the devastated tone, before she angrily turned to Big Ben.

"I though you said that this was supposed to be only viping out those undead fucks away from around of that fugitive wreckage to get the goods! You didn't told anything about the resistance in the form of three... JUST MERE PATHETIC THREE... fucking rogues inside of that rogue van! EXPLAIN THIS TO ME!" Helen angrily demanded, as she grabbed to one of her SIG-Sauer P250 Compact handguns and angrily pressed its pipe against Jackie's forehead.

Helen's sudden act like this surprised Big Ben greatly, and caused him to step back for a couple steps, though Zoe moved towards him agains and angrily pressed her handgun's pipe in between of Ben's eyes.

"EXPLAIN THIS TO ME! EXPLAIN TO ME THAT HOW DID MERE THREE FUGITIVES MANAGE TO DESTROY MAJORITY OF MY PATROL, VEHICLES AND STUFF?! AND UNLESS YOU DON'T WANT YOUR FUCKING BRAINS TO BE BLOWN OUT FROM YOUR SKULL, EXPLAIN THAT TO ME, NOW! WITHIN ONE SECOND, BEFORE I'LL..." Helen demanded furiously.

"WOAH, WOAH, WOAH! Hold on, sis!" Ben pleades as he lifted his hands up, pleading Helen to wait.

"I expected or assumed that those three fucking fugitives had got killed during of their rogue van's crash off the road to the woods or that one of my guys within the van killed all three of them with the triple-barreled shotgun after the crash. I was as surprised as you and your men were when we heard the warning cries and then the cries in pain coming out of the van. But that's not all. My own patrol, as well as other two patrols, also suffered the heavy casualties in numbers and vehicles from those three fugitives in the rogue van during of the chase 'till here. First they seemed to be to me the usual survivors of this fucking plague trying to trespass the area within that van. But once I saw all those weapons within the backide of the van - including the minigun with the stand and covered with the riot shields - once its back doors were torn out, I was pretty sure that the fugitives weren't any ordinary people, because none of the ordinary trespassing survivors we have encountered so far has kept in their possession such a large number of weapons." Ben explained.

Helen took to her faces the look, which told to Ben that Helen wasn't satisfied of his answers at all.

"Then who do you think they are?" Helen demanded to know.

And just as Ben was about to share his doubts/beliefs about identities/Affiliations of the fugitives...

"Yo! Big Ben! Helen! We got through of the herd!" Greg's voice called for both Ben and Helen...

...which provoked both of them to turn their attentions from each other to the garbageman, whose carried minigun was smoking out of the greart heat from the non-stopping gunfire against the walkers, and in front of him, and a couple dozens of other Saviors, was lying the wide and large carpet of dead, mutilated or barely living walkers, and the same thing had happened in the front side of the wreckage, where the Saviors had purged the van's front area fron the walkers.

The Saviors had gone through of the herd to the overturned wreckage's other side, though there was still a lot of walkers incoming from the woods...

...and because of that, the Saviors hurried into the line to the other side of the overturned vehicle, quickly reloaded their weapons with the full ammonation magazines after spending the old ones, and kept keeping the herd away from the wreckaged van.

Putting their argument aside for a while, both Helen and Ben headed towards the overturned van's other side through of its backside to soo (and claim) all from the crash survived goods, guns and ammonation from inside of the van.

However, to their great surprise, as Helen and Ben reached in front of the great hole in the van's backside ceiling...

...they found most of all from the crash survived guns, ammonation and explosives and even all extra fuel barrels within the van gathered together as a great pile, supported with some filled weapon boxes, fuel barrels and riot shields to keep the pile together.

"Whatta...?!" Both of them said with the confused tones and feelings about the sight.

There was already three Saviors checking the pile in case if all of this was gathered together as a bomb...

...though they soon found out that there was not sign of the bomb, as they found out that the pile was not covered with the gas and none of the explosives in the boxes and in the pile were not triggered... because, in their view, that if the fugitives would have destroyed all of this stuff by exploding them, they would have triggered some of the grenades to make the whole thing to explode...

...but because there was already a long period of time spent from the fugitives escape from the van and nothing had happened during of that time, the Savior trio had assumed that there was no danger in the pile.

"Well, at least those fugitives left for us a larger share of everything they had with them in this van so that they could escape even faster from the area like the cowards they are. So who cares about the lost goods within those cowards bags, when we have all the rest of these goods handed over to us like on the plate?" Ben suddenly said, with the satisfied tone.

However, Helen wasn't as satisfied about the sight and the reports about the pile as Ben was.

"I don't know, Ben. The real cowards abandons everything in order to get out of the area faster, and the real fools are those ones who dares to make the resistance against people with the larger numbers of men and superior firepower. But because those three fugitives did not abandon everything they had behind and they did only a short-term resistances against my men but only to escape, they are not apparently completely cowardly nor foolish. And yet I don't believe that they just left everything of this piled together as a pile for us like on the plate. Helen said, revealing her bad feelings about this.

"Oh, so you think, HUH?! Well, I don't see any sign of over of the pile drained gas and yet the man confirmed that there is no any explosive triggered to cause the big blast off. So what do you actually fear, Helen, may you explain that to me?" Ben said with the sarcastic yet a bit impatient tone of voice, as he wanted all of this to be transported to any of their remaining vehicles and to be taken away.

Suddenly...

"LOOK OUT!" One of the Saviors shooting at the walkers shouted the warning cry, as he lifted his hand up and pointed up to the air, to where the other Saviors attentions turned after halting their fire...

...and also Helen and Ben turned their own attentions turned from the pile within the van up to the sky to see that what had alarmed their men this time.

And, to the shock of both of both of them, they saw a dozens of in the arch through the air and over of the herd of walkers towards the van flying objects, which, by looking with a close eye, looked exactly like...

"WHAT THE FUCK... GRENADES?!" From this sudden revelation of the flying objects badly surprised/shocked Ben barked out.

"IT'S THE TRAP!" Helen cried out, now realizing (though too late) that the fugitive trio had planned to destroy everything they were unable to take with them with the grenade launchers at once instead of handing over the most of their stuff...

...and that THEY THEMSELVES - as being outsmarted by the trio of fugitives by being lured into the death trap - were the side plan of this operation.

"RU'UUUUN! GET AWAY FROM THE VAN! MOVE!" Helen cried to her remaining men, as she and Ben quickly started to run for their dear lives to the other side of the overturned van to avoid another certain casualties bringing explosion.

She did not need to tell to her men her order twice, as the Saviors immediately halted their fire to the incoming herd of walkers at once and broke their lines, as each one of the Saviors hurriedly and even hastily rushed to everywhere to get far away from the van as soon as possible.

The incoming grenades fired from the launchers and soon following explosion - as well as knowing them to be too close of the grenades target - led some of them to go into sheer panic, that caused the panicking ones to rough push some of their own men over to the ground to get even faster away from the van.

However, not many of the remaining Saviors reached in time far enough away from the overturned wreckage, as the very first grenades and the first ones following ones landed all around, inside and to the another side of the van... some of which flew straight onto the pile or in feet of it.

And as some of the grenades exploded all together or one by one, their explosions triggered all the explosives packed into the boxes and all the extra fuel barrels within the pile in the van, thus creating even great and over the large area echoing loud-sounding _**"KA-BOOOOM!"**_ explosion and the firestorm, that consumed/completely destroyed the overturned wreckage...

...and the explosion also killed and burned or brutally mutilated the greater part of the entire group of for their lives running Saviors, who did not make it out of the way of the explosion in time, and from the explosion followed shockwave knocked the survived Saviors off their feets - or killed them with the flaming parts or sharp pieces of the vehicle tossed all around with the huge speed by the explosion - and sent them roughly over to the ground.

And the herd of the walkers were also caught by both the explosion of the van, as well as the explosions of the some missing grenades, that burned or mutilated dozens and dozens of walkers from the front of the entire herd and knocked the following ones off their own feet over to the ground, as well as tossed some of the walkers - as well as the Saviors - through of the air to aside.

* * *

Back in the other side of the herd...

Rick and Zoe, now both of them wielding DefTech 37mm launchers in their hands, were emptying their launchers completely with the good pace by firing the grenades to the other side of the herd to cause even more devastation to the area, as well as among of the Saviors...

...with the hope that the large explosion killed most of them, and that the large far away echoing sound of the explosion would attract to the venue a lots and lots of a new fresh walkers from everywhere of the entire area to finish off the remaining Saviors.

They soon ran out of the ammo from their launchers, which they soon tossed away labelled as useless for them...

...leaving them with their melee-weapons, and Zoe's Winchester Model 70 sniper rifle and dual Para-Ordnance Nite-Tac pistols as their only firearms in use.

For a while, the trio eyed their destroyed and at the momend burning vehicle's wreckage in the other side of the distance and the herd of walkers, who were all heading towards the burning area.

The trio did not hear any voices, not pleads for the help nor cries in pain, coming from the direction of the burning wreckage and the road, thus allowing them to believe that they had probably managed to kill all the remaining Saviors with one shot.

"I don't hear anything anymore. I think that we got them all." Zoe said, breaking the silence around of the trio.

From the still bleeding stump of his arm holding Jackie was the first one to respond to this.

"Finally! Finally we managed to get ourselves rid of those fucking Savior assholes... and managed to also destroy several of their patrols completely from this district of our territory. Our alpha will be pleased." Jackie said with the relieved tone, as he turned his eyes from the destruction to Zoe...

...who, much to his surprise, wasn't as relieved as Jackie.

"More likely furious, Jackie." Zoe said with the concerned tone, which a bit confused Rick.

"What do you mean, Zoe? Why furious for destroying several Savior patrols on your territory - including the one with the large number of men and superior gunfire. Doesn't your leader want to get rid of and even kill the Saviors at all?" Rick asked.

"He wants that, Rick, most than anything else in this world, but our leader is not so foolish that he would attack the Saviors at the wrong time in the wrong place, including not without knowledge about the Saviors and preparing for them and their moves. Our leader is waiting for the the right moment to strike, and strike hard and devastatingly, against the Saviors by using the element of surprise and the Saviors arrogance about their view of themselves over of everybody else as our advantage against them. And even though he often sends our patrols out for the querrilla duties with the weapons equipped with the silencers to minimize the Saviors sheer numbers and to take their goods, each one of us has a clear order to clean up the messes of the each battle and make them to look like the actions of those _abominations_ in order to avoid rising any suspicions about the rebellion or any kind of form of resistance against the Saviors order..." Zoe explained.

"...but now, it is impossible for all three of us to clean up this battle's messes in any way due to the herd of _abominations_ being all around of the entire place. Gunning down several of those _abominations_ is very bad idea in this situation, because we would only attract them to turn away from the van and make them to head straight towards us from every corner, to surround us and kill us, and yet we do not have any silencers with us to prevent that from happening." Zoe continued.

"Besides, the extremey loud and in the air echoing sound of that explosion has most likely reached into the wrong ears in some of the nearby Savior outposts and camps, which means that there will be even more coming to check the area to find out that what caused that explosion..."

"...and if they find out there has been the fight going on and if they suspect us the Street dogs for destroying some of their patrols from that bridge up to here, you have no idea what kind of bloody punishment they have most likely saved for us." Zoe finished.

"They'll most likely unleash the very same Bloody Incident, which they have already unleashed us the very moment they arrived here the first time, which also triggered our forever lasting and firmly burning hatred against the Saviors... but this time, we'll be ready for that." Jackie added.

Rick, as he turned his eyes to the direction of the road and the flaming vehicled out there, understood fully that what Zoe and Jackie meant with all of that what they had just said, which sounded like the opposite event compared to his and his people's foolishly started encounter with the Saviors that brough the slavery and sufferings upon Alexandria...

...and the way how Zoe described her people's preparations and strategies for the Saviors upcoming downfall made at least some sense, but only if Zoe's and Jackie's people has experienced this event what Jackie called "Bloody Incident" a long before the Street dogs actually (though falsely) submitted under of the Saviors order to avoid any more casualties among of their people caused by the Saviors iron fist... instead of assassinating at first before the incident the one or couple of the Saviors patrols and outposts just like he and his people did with the Saviors at the Satellite Outpost.

But their inability to clean up the messes of the battle would change everything.

However, Rick was then snapped out of his thoughts, as he heard the walkers snarling nearby, which provoked him to turn around to the direction of the snarl.

And after doing so, Rick realized that they had stood in the same spot far too long and the forest all around of them was starting to get filled by dozens of a new walkers that emerged from the woods...

...and some of the walkers were even walking straight towards of them from behind while heading towards the road, presumably by being attracted by the load sound of the explosion of the van...

...and the walkers, who had reached close enough of them, reacted immediately to their living precense with the loud snarls out of the lust for the flesh and blood, after which the walkers lifted their arms up and extended them forwards in order to reach to the trio with their grabbling hands.

The first into the dirty and torn dress dressed female walker, who's snarl startled both Jackie and Zoe, lunged at Rick...

...but Rick reacted to the walker even faster by his instincts by lifted his arm over his shoulder and grabbing to Michonne's katana, pulling it out from its sheath and swung inclined straight strike from up to down Michonne's katana's blade across of walker's body from it rotten left shoulder to its right side hip... thus cutting the walker's upper body in half, killing it.

And after killing the walker, Rick turned to the others.

"If we stand in here any longer, the walkers will get even more troublematic thing that just the Saviors. I suggest that we continue our journey towards this "Dog House" of yours." Rick suggested.

Both Zoe and Jackie nodded as a agreement, and the Trio started to head away from the road and towards the woods on their path.

* * *

 **To Be Continue...**

 **Rick, Jackie and Zoe made it out of the van and from the siege of the both the walkers and the Saviors. And now, after causing the devastation upon the Saviors, the exhausted trio are now continuing their journey towards the Dog House.**

 **Will the rest of their journey be less difficult after dealing with the Saviors and walkers, we'll see it after the next chapter.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya in the next time.**


	18. Chapter 18: Escorted

**CHAPTER 18: Escorted.**

Meanwhile, back in the Doghouse...

Dr. Joshua Einstein was at the moment walking through of the wide hallway.

However, Joshua wasn't of course walking through the hallway all alone, but with Michonne.

After Tobias had sternly dismissed Megan Ramirez and sentenced her to be send to the excrement pit to shovel and cleaning work with the other in the pit working disobedient ones for breaking the Street dogs laws that concerned the captives and hostages by nearly beating Michonne to death with the wrench... as well as sending Buster to one of the Street dogs' mentioned outposts somewhere of their territory for rising the gun against the fellow Street dog...

...Tobias had ordered Dr. Joshua to take Michonne, as tied up from the wrists with the handcuffs and placed under of guard of couple Street dog soldiers, to his personal hospital room, so that the Street dog doctor could tend all the nasty bruises, scratches and the dogs bite wounds Michonne had suffered from the beating and the fight with the Street dogs back in that house on the Street dogs territory's border.

Joshua had agreed to do so, although reluctantly, due to his with his fellow Street dogs shared beliefs about Michonne as part of the Saviors and all of that what he himself had suffered and lost in the hands of the Saviors.

But Joshua did so only because of Tobias, his Alpha, having ordered him to do so, not for Michonne's well-being.

In fact, Joshua would have care nothing is Michonne was either shot with the handgun or stabbed/slashed with the knife mortally or being mauled near to death by dog or one of those in the woods roaming abomination.

But, however, he wasn't one of those to question his leader, as well as his rules and actions to lead them in this hell-filled world.

And a bit later, as soon as Michonne's bruises and wounds has been disinfected to prevent the inflammations and bandaged by Joshua, and after she was given some sort of clothing to wear, such like ragged, orange shirt and from the few places ragged blue jeans, Tobias has ordered Michonne to be escorted to his office, where he wanted to speak with her (or more likely interrogate her at first as a gentleman) privately, along with his most trusted lieutenants.

Joshua was now taking Michonne, with her wrists tied up with the tape, from his personal hospital office towards Tobias' office, During of which Joshua forced Michonne to walk at the same rapid pace with him by pulling her forward from the dog's chain leash, which Joshua had tied around of Michonne's neck, like a dog.

Joshua had also placed the muzzle on Michonne's face, because among of the Street dogs and according to the laws of the Street dogs, the muzzle was the sign of its wearer being the prisoner. Even Tobias, despite his apparent gentleman's ways, didn't called off of using the muzzle on Michonne during of her being escorted from Joshua's office to his.

Joshua was also accompanied by Bob and Dotty, who were ordered by Tobias to be the ones to escort Michonne from Joshua's office to Tobias office.

Both Bob and Dotty walked alongside of Michonne and kept an eye on her in case of any attempt to escape. Though it already seemed to be impossible, due to Michonne being tied up from her wrists with the tape, having yet the dogs chain leash tied around of her neck and yet being muzzled with the human muzzle.

And while escorting Michonne, Bob was armed with his Mossberg 590 Compact Cruisers and Dotty was armed with Remington 870 Police Magnum. Both of them had their guns loaded and aimed at Michonne, warning her not to try anything stupid, as it could be very costly to her if she even dares.

The escorting trio of Street dogs were also accompanied by Two Ton, who walked behind of Dotty, Michonne and Bob.

The fat giant man was also tasked by Tobias to watch over Michonne along with Dotty and Bob during of escorting her to Tobias' office, but he didn't carry any firearms with him unlike his companions, save for Dr. Joshua, even though even he carried his own Walther P99 pistol in its sheath hanging in his chest.

But, instead of firearms, save for his large baseball bat, Two Ton was holding from the chains two of his rottweilers right behind of her back. But because his dogs were angrily growling at Michonne and greatly urged to attack her from behind, Two Ton focused most of his attention to keep his dogs a small distance away from Michonne's back, as he had been ordered by Tobias... but he also kept himself alarmed in case if Michonne would attempt to escape from under of their guard.

And while being escorted by Joshua, Dotty, Bob and Two Ton from Joshua's personal hospital office towards Tobias' office, Michonne looked on the way all around of her and her escorts to see some details of her a new surroundings, that would silently tell her that where they actually were, or more likely, what kind of building they were within at the moment... as Dr. Joshua's personal hospital office seemed to be in the same building

In the lower and time-torn hallway, which Michonne and her escorts passed before climbing the stairs to the upper floors where Tobias office probably was located, was a lot of the dark-green locker cabinets, which were either dirty or damaged, standing in the four lines against the walls in the both sides of the hallway...

...and that there was also the various doors in both sides of the hallways, which were placed in small distances away from each other. Some of them had a small windows, above of which had been written the numbers in order, and which led into the large rooms behind, while some doors without the window apparently led to the small rooms, such like closets.

And in the very same passed hallway, where Dr. Joshua's hospital office was located as well, had also the double doors with the glass windows, which seemed to lead into the larger and white-walled cafeteria/lunchroom-looking hall full of tables and seats in the lines.

Most of the doors in this hallway were left open, and for reason, as they passed on their way a lot of to the hallway gathered and at the escorting group staring people, dozens and dozens of men, women and teen children in different ages, sizes and physical appearances.

Even though each one of these people wore a miscellaneous clothing on them, each one of them shared two common things with each others. 1: Each one of them had SD-letters written with the blue color on their foreheads (which reminded Michonne about some people from the past, who had W-letter written with the blood or dirt - or even carved to the flesh - on their foreheads) and 2: Each one of them had on their sides a large or medium-sized dogs from many different breeds.

All these people and their dogs had gathered out of the rooms to the hallway with the large numbers to see four of their own escorting Michonne as a prisoner through of the hallway while heading towards Tobias office.

Through of some quick glances over the densely together gathered people's heads into the rooms, at least those rooms which had their doors open, and even though each glance into the rooms lasted merely two-three seconds before she was pushed forward by one of her escorts to keep her on the move, Michonne managed to recognize the large rooms from their appearance as the schools classrooms, or at least former and time-torn classrooms.

Dark-green locker cabinets standing in lines against the wall in the both sides of the hallways...

...the lunchroom behind of the doors with the glass-windows...

...the great hall with the stage where she was a moments ago kept as a prisoner...

...and the time-torn classrooms-resembling rooms behind some of the doors of the hallway...

All of them together were enough to tell to Michonne that she was actually in some in the beginning of the entire Apocalypse abandoned school building, which these Street dogs had most likely taken as their headquarters...

...and the Street Dogs had even made their own improvements to the ruins of the time-torn school.

For example, they had turned the outer classrooms of this hallway close to the military barracks or bunkers, as Michonne saw the glimpse of several two-story beds and several weapon boxes and weapon stands placed in the classrooms and yet the classrooms windows seemed to be barricaded with either the thick wood panes, with the thick metal bars or with the metal grids from both sides. Yet there was also the tables moved beneath of the windows and onto the which had been placed Browning M1919A4 and Browning M2HB machine guns that were aimed outside of the windows.

And the inner, plus windowless, classrooms apparent to be turned into the control rooms, where was one large table in middle of the classroom and in the next of three walls of the class room was standing with the numerous monitor screens equipped monitor tables and monitor walls above of the tables with the several people wearing with the monitor devices, hinting to the fact that the Street dogs somehow possessed the connection even during of the Apocalypse and that they had dozens and dozens of surveillance cameras everywhere of this place in case of the spies or trouble makers. One wall was left without the one, except that into which had been mortgaged several different-sized maps, in which was numerous circles, crosses, lines and arrows drawn in red and black indian ink. And the similar looking maps was also lying on the tables in middle of the rooms, where was also the small town-like large miniature models that filled half of the tables.

And in the hallway, the cleaning closets and small windowless classrooms had been turned into the arsenals, into where had been stored the guns, some heavier guns, the boxes of ammunition and the explosives plus the barrels of fuel, and that the Street dogs had also formed to the hallway several semicircle-shaped barricades of heavy sandbags, which were protected from front with the barbed wires or lined (and into each others from the edges attached) riot shields, and behind of which was standing in the shooting positions a couple of Browning M2 machine guns aimmig to the two directions.

The atmosphere in the lower hallways was awkwardly quiet, as each man, woman and teen child gathered to the hallways kept glaring at Michonne with the distrust and hatred in their faces and eyes, and even their own dogs growled at Michonne.

And on their way, Michonne and her escorting group passed the group of over dozen of fully into the riot suits and helmets armored Street dog soldiers, most of which were armed with Heckler & Koch G36K with an attached AG36 grenade launcher and SEF trigger pack while some of them with Heckler & Koch MP5KA4s with two 30-round magazines clamped together. And in addition of which, those ones of the soldiers with Heckler & Koch MP5KA4s brought some of their dogs, mostly dobermans, german shepherds and pit bull terriers.

While passing Michonne's escorting group on their way, each soldier paid the quick look at Michonne with the despising and hateful look in each soldiers faces. And Michonne also earned some angry growling and barking from their patrol dogs.

And after they had passed the hallway, they entered through of another double-doors with the glass windows - which were also equipped with the metal grids or with the metal board barricades attached into the edges of the windows with the blowtorches - into the space of stairwell, where the stairs leading both to the base floor and to the upper floors of the building were located.

It didn't take long from Michonne and her escorting group to reach through of couple-three floors up to the top of the stairs in the upper floor, where they entered through of the double doors to the another hallway in the top of the stairs and behind of the double doors with the barricaded glass windows.

And after entering to there, Michonne saw that this hallway wasn't entirely turned into the military barrack-like space like the hallway a few floors bellow, but most of the top floor's classrooms were rather turned into the apartment rooms (Couple of them was also kept as a school), where lived the non-military people of Street dogs, most of which are composed of non-military women, the elderly and for the most part from the children.

Even though not openly and with the loud voice, Michonne had to just congratulate the Street dogs for keeping an strict eye on the safety of their own people and keeping the non-military part of their people safe in the upper floors, out of the reach of the herds of walkers and hostile groups of survivors, while the majority of the military part of their people and most of their weaponry were placed to the lower floors of this school-building.

However, despite that in this floor were mostly the apartment rooms for the non-military Street dogs, there were still some cleaning closets that had been turned into the arsenals, and where a lot of guns and ammunition were stored just in case. And just like the ones turned into the barracks in the lower floors, there was also the metal grids attached to each the apartments-turned-classrooms to the outside leading windows. And just like in the classrooms turned into the barracks, these people had moved the tables under of the apartments-turned-classrooms windows, and placed some locked wooden boxes containing Browning M1919A4 and M2HB machine guns under of the tables, just in case if the school was under attack.

And even on this floor was more of those into the full riot suits and helmets dressed soldiers on their guarding or patrol duties. But unlike the patrols in the lower floors, these ones of the Street dog soldiers seemed to be merely look-out guards and marksmen, as they were carrying in their backs or hands the sniper rifles...

...for example, two Street dog soldiers on the patrol, that were walking away from them, were carrying Winchester Model 70 and Steyr SSG 69 rifles in their backs, while another patrol, that was about to pass them soon enough, were carrying in their arms Heckler & Koch G3SG/1 and L85A1 rifle fitted with an SUSAT scope.

Right after entering to the top floor's hallway, Michonne's escorting group headed then to the next door, which led into the side hallway, the one where they were on the moment, where were located the principal's office and some other offices too, taken for new use by the Street dogs, and in the end of the hallway was located, as was written to the door's outer surface as a information for people, the teachers break room.

This side hallway's walls were made off from the brown-orange brick, and where was the line of doors in the right side of the corridor, though from some doorways had been removed the doors and the doorways were bricked. And to the outer surface of each remaining doors outer surfaces had been engraved the several names, probably hinting at who lived in the room behind the door.

"Buster Roger... Megan Ramirez... Dotty Spotty... Bob Adams (which was probably his last name)... Dr. Joshua Einstein... Chevalier Lumière..." Michonne whispered quietly each name engraved to the doors.

"So, This Tobias-guy and all the high-ranking members of your people lives in the principal's and other staff's offices?" Michonne questioned, until she got knocked hard to behind of her head by Dotty's gun's stern.

"None of your business, bitch! Now, keep moving! Alpha doesn't like wasting his precious time by waiting too long for the arrival of the slowing slugs." Dotty said with the rude tone as she pushed Michonne to keep moving.

And by walking through of the hallway, they soon arrived in front of the door, which was located in the middle of the hallway and in which outer surface had been carved "Shadow Family & Zoe Rodriguez" to inform that who lived inside there.

And the line of the doors kept going after the center door of the room, where the Street dogs leader lived with his family.

And into their outer surfaces had been carved more names, which Michonne didn't recognize, and for the reason... because these names belonged to those people, all of them most obviously Tobias' lieutenants as well, who she hasn't even met yet.

And the such of names were...

Marco Hawkins... Laura Bonnie... Amos Clayton... Rico Jones... Santos Simon... James(Jim or Jimmy) Harold... Paula Angela... Buck Benneth... Max Midnight... Copper Simmons... Chief Charlie Sherman... Judith(Judy) Chacon... and many others.

The central door itself was guarded by two the same guys, who had accompanied Tobias when he had paid his very first personal visit to Michonne, when she was about to get brutally, maybe even fatally, beaten by Megan. Edward and Jeremy, both of them fully dressed into the riot suits and helmets and both of them wielded in their arms Heckler & Koch G3SG/1 rifles and Smith & Wesson M&P handguns in the sheaths hanging in their belts. And in the next of them was also sitting two large black rottweilers, who immediately started to growl when they sensed the stranger (Michonne's) presence.

Edward and Jeremy as well turned their attentions to Michonne and her escorting group when they stopped right in front of them.

"The prisoner is both bandaged and dressed for the meeting with Alpha and that he's waiting for us right now, so let us through. But if he has a meeting inside of there, can someone of you to to go in there to inform Alpha that we're here waiting for his permission to enter?" Joshua informed to the guards.

Edward and Jeremy paid a quick look at each other as soon as Joshua had said what he had to say...

...until one of them, the slender and one-handed one with the blood-red bandana covering the upper side of his head and most of his faces, turned his attention to the muscular and heavily scarred one standing in the other side of the door.

"Edward. Go in there and inform to Alpha that Joshua and that black Savior bitch are here waiting for his permission to enter. I'll wait here." The one-handed man, whose name was probably Jeremy after he called the muscular and scarred one with the name Edward, said to Edward.

Edward nodded to Jeremy, but he didn't said a word to anybody, but let out three throaty grunts out of his mouth only like the dog.

And instead talking, Edward started to move his hands in front of him in the way of sign language, as he kept his eyes on Jeremy.

" _I'm on my way._ " Edward Signed, which Jeremy seemed to clearly understand, unlike the other Street dogs in Michonne's escort group, as he nodded to his partner...

...before he turned to the door and grabbed from its handle to open it, but not before he paid the quick look at Michonne, letting out the aggressive throaty hissing sound from his mouth, after which he opened the door and entered into the room, closing the door after him.

And while Jeremy remained in this side of the door along with Michonne and her escorting group, Jeremy noticed Michonne's a bit confused-looking and yet questioning look in her faces, probably because of Edward's grunting like the dog instead of speaking like the other humans.

"Wondering that why Edward sounds like dog? Or that why he uses the sign language instead of speaking to communicate with others? Or that how he received those hideous scars across his chest, left shoulder and across his faces, aren't you?" Jeremy asked from Michonne, who slowly turned her attention at Jeremy.

"It happened in the Ring Fight Arena while fighting with from within our territory's borders captured the captured Savior. Fucking asshole pushed him into the ring pit around of the ring-area full of untameable dogs, We managed to narrowly save him from getting mauled and eaten by those hounds, but the poor guy paid the prize for remaining the books of the living. One of the pit's dogs ended up tearing open Edward's throat and ripping out his vocal cords in the process, leaving him with those two bad scars on his neck. And due to this, he cannot speak at all." Jeremy explained, with the bitter tone.

"And for that, that fucking asshole was pushed into the pit as a dog-food for causing this one of our own." Jeremy added with the angry-sounding tone, before his voice turned more gentler.

"And now, even though he often lets out throaty grunts and growls out of his mouth because of this injury to his vocal cords, thanks to that now-dead Savior asshole, he uses mostly the sign language to communicate with others around of him. And as a former sign language teacher before this a new shit-tasting world order, I taught him to to use the sign language to communicate." Jeremy explained.

"Or more likely, he communicates with others through of me. He's actually very dependent on me with the sign language, because I'm the only one around here who knows the sign language while no one else around here knows nothing about the sign language." Jeremy finished.

And while Jeremy explained this, Michonne paid the look at Jeremy's from above of the elbow missing arm.

"Apparently he wasn't the only one who suffered some losses. Was that the dogs doings as well?" Michonne asked, nodding with her head at Jeremy's missing arm.

Jeremy let out the disgusted sigh after Michonne's question.

"I really hope that it was those dogs that took my arm from me, but they didn't. It was..." Jeremy said, mourning the loss of his arm...

...and allowing Michonne to guess that who were behind of Jeremy loosing his arm.

"...the Saviors." Michonne finished the line for Jeremy, earning the dark look from Jeremy in the process.

"Yes. Those so-called lifeguards, or more likely as such of self-believing and pretending clowns, took my only good arm, and their act also limited my ability to wield the big guns, except the hand guns and those ones with the stands, and I'm not good to use nor aim with the gun with the left arm. And I'm able to wield this Heckler & Koch G3SG/1 rifle with my left arm only if I lean it against my left shoulder, that's all. And thanks for losing my arm to the Saviors, I'm intending to make the Saviors, your people, to pay for that by severing their heads instead of their arms from the very last one of them... starting from yours from this moment, if Alpha does not like you and your presence." Jeremy said with the dark sense of humor, earning the offended snort and dark look from Michonne in the process.

It was then when the door opened, and Edward's head peeped out, staring at Michonne's escorting group.

"Hmph! Hrrrr! Grrrr!" Edward grunted, before he turned to Jeremy.

" _Alpha is waiting for her in his room, as well as his lieutenants of the escorting group, unless they're too busy to join to this moment._ " Edward signed to Jeremy, earning from his partner the nod.

"Looks like that Alpha wasn't busy at all as I believed." Jeremy said, before he turned to Michonne's escorting group.

"Joshua, Dotty and Bob. As a lieutenants, Alpha has invited you three into his room as well as this black Savior bitch. So, you three may enter, unless you have your own busy business to be unfinished in the village." Jeremy said, while gesturing Michonne's escorting group to step into the room.

The trio around of Michonne was for a moment silent, until Joshua broke the silence by opening his mouth to speak.

"I think that I'm speaking for everybody else if I say that we do not have a unfinished busy business. My assistants will take care of my busy tasks and my patients in my hospital while I'm on this meeting. So, I'll pay the visit in this meeting." Joshua said to Jeremy.

The one-handed Street dog soldier/guard nodded amd gestured with nodding his head at the door the trio to enter in and take Michonne with them.

But before the trio even entered into the room through the doors, Joshua then turned to Michonne.

"Alright, bitch. Your Savior-rules and so-called Savior-rights do not apply in here. Only Street dogs rules and rights apply in here. We have some advices for the prisoners of whom our Alpha is going to speak with, and we demand that each one of the prisoners will follow them or else we'll make them to follow them during of this meet with the painful way. And I'm gonna say this only one time, so you better listen up and listen carefully. When Alpha speaks, you listen and you do not speak unless you're allowed to speak. And when he asks some questions, you answer briefly and clearly to each one of them fair and square. And if you dare to lie and you continue lying, you'll be shocked every time with the taser to the back. And you do everything what he says, for example, if he asks you to sit down, you sit down, otherwise you remain to stand up. And do not try to be extremely stupid, like attempt of escape or attacking our Alpha in order to take him as a hostage. and the window doors lead to the balcony and hence to the long fatal fall down to the ground. The door is locked on both sides and guarded from outside, and the window doors in the room leads to the balcony and hence to the long fatal fall down to the ground. And that our Alpha is surrounded by the fully armored soldiers, the guard dogs and his most trusted and armed lieutenants in case of any foolhardy attack against him. So you better to remember everything of that, because the last two guys who didn't and attempted to attack our Alpha, one of them ended up to become the chew toy for the dogs and other one became Swiss cheese, if you understood that what did I mean. Did I made myself clear?" Joshua said.

Joshua was a quite fast-talking person, so it was apparently difficult for him to speak a bit slowly for the others to understand his words clearly.

But it was clear enough to Michonne that asking him to repeat everything what he had just said would be merely useless in her state among of them, and that it would only frustrate Joshua, due to his and the other Street dogs strong distrust and beliefs towards her.

"Like I have another choice while standing in middle of the armed people and angry dogs, Joshua. But fine with me, as long as I have a chance to meet your leader in person, because I have an offer for Tobias, which even he nor anyone of you cannot refuse, according to your burning hatred towards and lust for vengeance against the Saviors." Michonne simply said, remembering Rick telling to her his plans of negotiating with the leader of the Street dogs about the alliance between of the communities tormented by the Saviors' tyrannical rule...

...and this was the perfect opportunity for her to execute Rick's plan.

In fact, Michonne didn't even expect herself of saying those words, which Rick would have most certainly said to these Street dogs by himself, only if he were here by her side right now.

Taking the situation into her own hands like this reminded Michonne about Rick telling to her that it was up to her to take the leadership over alexandrians in the upcoming war against the Saviors, but only if he doesn't make it through of the war. This is why Michonne felt that her moment as a leader came far too soon.

And in addition to that, trying to honor Rick's request to her by taking his burden of the leadership onto her shoulders, though Michonne herself was never interested of being leader - except in the situations when she had to be - and that she viewed herself as one of Rick's faithful followers and supporters, and even as his right-hand woman, who would have wanted rather to follow Rick's leadership or guide him with the wise advices rather than rise as a leader, was emotionally painful for Michonne, as she was still emotionally convinced by Billy's claims of Rick's supposed death, though the fate of the man she loved was still unknown to her and everyone else, who narrowly managed to escape alive from that forest fire and from the massive herd of walkers after the fight on that house.

However, as she said it by herself... she got no other choice.

"So let's then do this in your way, okay?" Michonne added.

Edward, Joshua, Jeremy, Bob, Dotty and Two Ton were rather surprised to see and hear Michonne calmly and willingly submitting to their ways, unlike during the previous times with in front of their leader brought Saviors captured from within of their territory's borders, as the captured Savior prisoners had usually spit straight on their faces and cursed them with the many ill words, not the mention of the captives mocking them with the many times over heard threats about the horrible death and lots of blood and destruction upon the Street dogs promising punishments from their leader.

However, Joshua quickly casted off his surprised attitude away and returned to his old harsh-self towards Michonne.

"Alright then. Here you go." Joshua said and pulled from the chain around of Michonne's neck, gesturing her to follow him inside through the doors.

And once Joshua and Michonne had entered int other room, Dotty and Bob followed after them one by one through the door.

Two Ton was also about to enter into the room after his companions, only for Jeremy and Edward to step quickly in between of Two Ton and still-open door into Tobias' room, blocking the path/enter into the room from Two Ton... much to the fat and massive Street dog's surprise.

"Hey! What are you doing?! Out of my way! Open the door and let me in at once!" Two Ton demanded firmly.

"You weren't invite with the rest of the escorting group, Two Ton. This is the matter of the lieutenants, not subjects." Jeremy apologized.

"Argh! Grrrrh! Argh!" Edward growled, agreeing with Jeremy.

" _You heard Jeremy! Only lieutenants!_ " He signed.

And after that, Edward signed something more in front of Two Ton's faces, from which the obese man didn't understand nothing at all.

"What did he said?" Two Ton asked/demanded to know from Jeremy soon after Edward had finished, suspicious about the possibility that whatever the mute Street dogs said through of his sign language, it wouldn't be pleasant.

Jeremy, as he said that he knows the sign language better than anyone, a bit hesitated to translate Edward's recent sign language to Two Ton, knowing too well that Two Ton will not like it and that it could only lead to catastrophic situation.

" _And yet we do not take orders from the low-ranked and fat mutt lie you, Two Ton._ That's what Edward said." Jeremy hesitatingly answered to Two Ton's question after translating Edward's sign language.

Two Ton eyes snapped to the wide out of anger and he angrily frowned his face upon of being insulted as a "fat mutt" by Edward.

The big, fat and very short-tempered guy doesn't take kindly to remarks of his body-shape and obese appearance, to which he can't do anything.

Calling Two Ton as a "fat mutt", which he views as an greatly offending insult against himself and his appearance, has sometimes caused even the massive fist-fights among of Street dogs on the Streets of the Doghouse, starting first from Two Ton and the abuser one, who had deliberately called him as a "fat mutt" due to his obese appearance, before both of them were joined by their supporting and faithful friends into the fist-fight... and sometimes even dozens of fist-fight loving and supporting Street dogs.

And among the Street dogs, all out of control escaped fist-fights were sometimes very brutal, because sometimes the dogs used to join the fist-fights in their masters side by using their claws and teeth against their opponents, and some of the Street dogs even lowered themselves to the level of using knifes, baseball bats, chains, metal pipes, fist-sized rocks, and even their own teeth in addition to their fists and kicks. It always knew serious bruises and scratches, blood, sweat and tears ... blackened eyes, broken spots and lost teeth.

And whenever the fist-fight broke out among of the Street dogs, Tobias never take kindly to the behavior of his subjects, as every fist-fight does nothing but reduces even more the Street dogs morality, discipline and order, friendship, trust and desire for co-operation, and replace them with the anger and bitterness, resentment and mistrust, arrogance and unwillingness for co-operation among of the men, especially those ones who have taken part to the brawl.

And in order to keep morality, discipline and order, trust and desire for co-operation above of pointless bitterness, harboring grudges, distrust, arrogance and unwillingness for co-operation, Tobias had sternly forbid the fist-fights among of his men under penalty of punishment.

As early said, the usual punishment among of the Street dogs was to place all the rule-breakers to the excrement pit to shovel and cleaning work, but there was even more harsher punishment for all of those who have taken in any way part to the fist-fights, either as an participant or supporter, within the walls of the Dog House.

Ring Fights, as Jeremy had called such of event a five-ten minutes ago while explaining to captive Michonne Edward's lack of speech, use of the sign language to communicate and the reason(s) to it.

The area of the Ring Fights was in the arena for the death matches, which was by its appearance into the soil ground was dug deep ring-shaped well, leaving pillar-like round arena in middle of it, without the fences. The well's and pillar's walls were strengthened with the somewhat smooth stone wall. And the bottom of the well was occupied by the pack of untameable dogs filled with rage and lust for human flesh and blood... waiting for the losers of the fight to fall over the edge of the area to the bottom of the pit and being eaten by the dogs.

This kind of cruel punishment's motivations were to either teach to those ones, who lacked discipline, those ones who both rivaled and harbored deep resentment towards each others, or those ones who were very arrogant and unwilling for co-operation with the fellow Street dogs, that were their prides more stronger than the Street dogs common purpose... or even remove all those Street dogs, who were labelled as weak links and useless "dead weight or human garbage", from the ranks of the Street dogs to prevent their weaknesses, rivalry and even mutiny-like and arrogant attitudes from weakening the Street dogs strength by feeding them to the dogs in the Pit Fights...

...and all those ones, who managed to survive through of this kind of punishment alive, were released from the charges against them for violating with the violent ways the laws by of the Street dogs, but only with a stern warning not to engage other fellow Street dogs into the pointless fist-fight again.

And Two Ton was one of those few Street dogs, who have made it through of the Ring Fight punishment(s) alive.

Though dim-witted at times and often clumsy, Two Ton was far too stubborn to die either from the hand of rogue Street dog or in the fangs of the savage dogs, that thanks to his massive size and strength, Two Ton had killed either with his baseball bat or even with his bare hands dozens of rogue Street dogs (who were put into the area after picing up the fight with Two Ton for calling him "fat mutt") or lawbreaker Street dogs without showing any kind of mercy for his opponents.

Two Ton's massive size and strength, and being expert of using the heavy guns, such like the minigun, made him one of the perfect and even valued soldiers in the army of Dog House... but because of his dim-wittiness and clumsiness, he has not been qualified as a one of the most trusted lieutenants, and fell constantly under of the leadership of Billy or even more serious and harsh Chevalier Lumière.

After Edward had called him as a "fat mutt", Two Ton's very first reaction to this was reach with his hand to the handle of his baseball bat, which was hanging on his belt in his left side, which he then lifted up above of his head with the threatening attitude, and even ready to attack both Jeremy and Edward.

Even Two Ton's dogs stood up into the attack-ready positions and started to growl, and even barking loudly, at Jeremy and Edward, baring their teeth in the process, after the rottweilers had both heard and sensed that they master was just "threatened" with the offensive insults...

...only to provoke both Edward and even reluctant Jeremy to go into the defensive positions and grab with both of their hands (though Jeremy happened to be one-handed out of two) from their guns, which they almost aimed together at Two Ton, and along with them, their own rottweilers snarled back to Two Ton's own.

And not just Jeremy and Edward...

...because without of their noticing, into the same hallway had appeared out of nowhere two groups of four Street dog soldiers and their dogs.

One of them having three German Shepherd Dogs and one Dalmatian, while another group had one large bloodhound one brown boxer and two black bulky-shaped labrators, all in the attack-positions and growling at Two-Ton and his dogs...

...and the Street dog soldiers of two groups, two soldiers of one of the groups wielded in their hands the couple of double-barreled rifles with the telescopic sights while two other held the handguns in their arms, and the another group's soldiers wielded in their arms SIG SG 552 rifles and one of them wielded Armscor M30SAS shotgun.

All of them were standing in the positions, in which all of them had partially lifted their weapons up into the positions of aiming Two Ton.

However, despite standing in the defensive positions in both sides of Two Ton, none of these Street dog soldiers completely lifted their guns up to held Two Ton at gunpoint, due to the certain rule in the Street dogs' law, which concerned every Street dog within the walls of the Doghouse.

The Rule, which strictly forbids every Street dog from aim his or her gun at the fellow Street dog.

However, in the some situations, such of when and if the Street dog in question actually rises his or hers gun (or any other melee weapon, such like knives with the assassination intentions) against another fellow Street dogs and even proceed by killing the fellow Street dog with either one or several gunshots, such of the gravity of the transgression of the law would be able to overrule that rule and allow the Street dogs to held the lawbreaker Street dog at gunpoint.

And as early said, in the Street dogs' law, the penalty for the troublemakers for rising the gun against the fellow Street dog (even without pulling the trigger and killing the one the wielder of the gun is holding at gunpoint) was to be dispatched away from the Doghouse into one of the Street dogs outposts in the woods to patrol and protect their territory's borders from the Saviors and other outsiders, which always knows the casualties, and the same concerns the lawbreakers dogs...

...while all of those, who've actually and even willingly killed one of their own they'd held at gunpoint, are immediately arrested, labelled as a murderers plus traitors and no longer part of the Street dogs and after which immediately sentenced to death... because they knew all too well that the being sentencing to exile was far too risky judgement for their plans to bring/crush down the Saviors... because it was obvious that from the Doghouse exiled ex-dogs would crawl to the feet of the Saviors and, out of their lust for vengeance for their exile, reveal to the inquisitive Saviors the top-secret information of the Street dogs war-preparations against them in exchange for the offer to join them as one of the Saviors.

But unlike to the death sentenced law-breakes, their dogs were always speared from being exterminated, mostly because of their people valuing the dogs as their best friends, their closest allies, their hunting and patrol companions, their fellow soldiers, and even as a sacred animals like cows in India. But all their dogs who are without or have lost their masters, mostly because of the Saviors during of their time at the outposts or in the Ring Fights or being sentenced to death for treason, are always taken into the Doghouse's Dog Shelter to wait for a new masters or for the Street dogs own military purposes.

However, still offended by being called as a Fat Mutt by Edward, Two Ton still hesitated to let go from his baseball bat... though he resisted within himself and in his veins boiling anger from getting best of him and raising his baseball bat against another Street dog... even though he was a mute jerk and bully.

Jeremy, seeing Two Ton's inner battle between of his anger and prideful self and with himself reasoning self - which was a quite surprising thing coming from the such of dim-witted person like Two Ton - from his alternately changing face-looks and eyes and hesitating attitude, decided to open his mouth to give supportive reason to talk Two Ton out of this when he still could.

"You better not do that, Two Ton. You know too well the law of the Street dog and penalty of breaking the rules. so stand down, before you make the thing to go even worse than now." Jeremy advised gently.

However, Two Ton seemed to be not in the mood of standing down, and that he became even more offended when Jeremy actually sided with Edward instead of him, even though Edward was the one who started this by calling him as a "Fat Mutt" in the first place.

Jeremy decided to

"Two Ton, I know that you do not like to be called Fat Mutt because of your appearance to which you're unable to do anything... but c'mon, man! Even though Edward behaved ugly a moment ago towards you, attacking Edward violently with the baseball bat - or even sending your dogs to do the dirty work for you - is not worthy of getting yourself in the serious troubles once again, such like ending up to the Ring Fight Arena to fight again, or to be sent away to one of the Outposts for the harsh patrol duty, or else the worst one of all, to be even executed for attacking the fellow Street dog. So do yourself the big favor and stand down, release your grip from your baseball bat's handle, tell both of your dogs to calm and stand down as well, turn around and walk away peacefully, and you'll yet avoid the punishment. I'll have later talking-to with Edward about insulting the other people with the feelings offending name callings, I promise that to you, with the Street dogs' word of honor. Is that fair enough to you, Two Ton?"

Two Ton still felt urge to pull his baseball bat from her back and use it against Buster by bashing his head.

"I' said: Stand down, release your grip from your baseball bat's handle, tell both of your dogs to calm and stand down as well, turn around and walk away peacefully, and you'll yet avoid the punishment, and I will not say it for the third time. You better do that willingly than forced, Two Ton. So don't force us to drag you and your dogs forcibly away from here." Jeremy added, as his gentle tone of voice turned into more demanding, though he was still reluctant to use the raw force to Two Ton...

...no matter how stubborn and ready to attack he was.

 **To be continued...**

 **Michonne has been escorted through of the Street dogs headquarters, which is revealed to be the abandoned school-building, to speak face-to-face with Tobias Shadow, the Alpha dog of the Street dogs. It's now a big step for Michonne towards the leadership, as Rick advised her to do if he doesn't make it alive, though not knowing that Rick is still alive and well and on his way towards the Doghouse for her. Meanwhile, obese and somewhat dim-witted but from** **his appearance's influence to the others s** **ensitive Street dog Two Ton is face-to-face with the hostile feelings with Tobias top-bodyguards, especially with the mute bodyguard Edward, who deliberately called Two Ton as a "Fat Mutt".**

 **What will happen next, we'll see it after the next chapter.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.**

 **See ya in the next time.**


	19. Chapter 19: The Meeting

**CHAPTER 19: THE MEETING  
**

As Two Ton was left to argue with Jeremy and Edward outside of the door, Joshua, Bob, Dotty and Michonne kept entering into the Shadow Family's room...

...which, by it's current appearance, after some improvements through of years since the Beginning of all of this, resembled somewhat and greatly a duplex apartment rather than a office of the one single room space.

The walls that usually separates this room from two-four of its adjacent rooms seemed to be removed and the doors leading to those rooms seemed to be bricked close, leaving only one door to enter the space between the three combined rooms.

And it was not yet enough, as these together combined rooms ceilings that usually separated these rooms from the upper floor's rooms above of them, seemed to be removed as well to create even more duplex apartment-like room space. However, the ceiling between of this and upper floor's rooms in the right side of the door was left in peace, and which seemed to be serving both as a upstairs and a private space/room for this handmade apartment and up there leading somehow in here placed spiral staircase.

And once she had stepped into the room, Michonne started to eye the room around of her carefully.

This homemade duplex apartment's windows (which were originally separated along with the rooms until the walls were removed and the rooms combined, and as a result, each two windows of each room formed the a six-window row) were exactly similar to the windows in the class rooms she and her escorts had passed on their way from Joshua's personal hospital office in the lower floor's hallway.

Each window of this apartment was as heavily barricaded with the thick wood panes and with the thick metal bars or with the metal grids from both sides, with the tables moved in beneath of the windows and onto them had been placed Browning M1919A4 and Browning M2HB machine guns aimed outside of the windows, and beneath of the tables had been placed the boxes full of extra ammunition for the machine guns on the table.

And in between of the windows and tables had been placed several weapon stands, and in the each one of them was hanging in vertical or in straight positions eight pieces of one type of weapon, mostly sniper rifles but also several various rifles/carbines fitted with sniper scopes and at least one type of shotguns and assault rifle, while two last at the bottom of the each stand hanging weapons were Airtronic RPG-, and with them was a several large cases containing several RPG warheads.

And the rest of the weapons in the stands...

In one of the stands was hanging Winchester Model 70 sniper rifles fitted with a sound suppressors.

In the second one was hanging Remington 750 semiatomatic rifles with black furniture and scopes.

In the third one was hanging Mossberg MVP LR fitted with sniper scopes and bipods.

In the fourth one was hanging Steyr SSG 69 sniper rifles.

In the fifth one was hanging M16A4 rifles fitted with sniper scopes, and a TangoDown ACB-4 bipods.

In the sixth one was hanging Heckler & Koch G3SG/1 sniper rifles.

In the seventh one was hanging DPMS Recon fitted with a sniper scope on a rail riser and a PMAG

In the eighth one was hanging Colt M4A1 carbines fitted with ACOG Scopes and Foregrips

In the nineth one was hanging Mossberg 590 shotguns

And in the tenth one was hanging Norinco Type 56 assault rifles.

Even Tobias' personal and homemade duplex apartment was heavily armed to make heavy and unbeatable resistance against any invaders against their community within the school-building, and from here, they had the high position and the sniper scopes as their perfect advantages

Michonne was quickly surprised of such of number of weapons in one place at the same time...

...and yet Michonne started to wonder that how the Street dogs were capable to hold in their possession such of number of weapons - just like those Street dogs back in that house on their territory's border and in the woods - if the Saviors had obviously confiscated/plundered all their weapons on their first visit in Dog House community to remove any possibilities for and prevent any form of resistance against them from the Street dogs, just like they had done back in Alexandria during of their first visit for alexandrians continuous resistance and killing of Negan's men, that resulted to the deaths of Denise, Abraham and Glenn.

However, most of Tobias's entire office resembled greatly the conference room - or at least loosely based on it - as there was a long and hard wooden table with the rounds shapes in both ends, and in middle of which had been described the head of the fiercely its fangs baring dog's head in middle of the circle. The table was also surrounded by over couple dozen chairs, which surrounded the whole table: Two in the ends of the table and eleven others in both sides of the table. And into the back of the chair had been written the same names, which had been written to the outer surfaces of the doors back in that narrow hallway, possibly implying the personal seat (and place) for every Street dog lieutenant in this place.

And in the another end of the table was standing all the other chairs around the table bigger and far more fancier throne-like and amber-colored main chair, which armrests plus the chairs legs were carved to resemble in each sides of the seat standing thick maned Golden retrievers, while corners of the back of the chairs were carved to resemble on their hind legs standing German shepherd dogs. And above of the back of the chair was placed the amber-colored plate, in which had been carved the name _Tobias Shadow_ , implying that the chair belonged to Tobias himself. And, in fact, there was also standing five Golden retrievers and five German shepherd dogs in lines on both sides of the chair.

And the double-large wall behind of the table, Into the wall had been hung several dozen of coat of arms-like human-sized tapestries, into each one of them had been almost in detail described the heads of various dog breeds, all of those Michonne had seen in the possession of the Street dogs during of her time as their captive. And that there was also a large blackboard, above of which had been written...

 _RULES OF THE STREET DOGS!_

 _...as well as..._

 _PENALTIES FOR BREAKING THE RULES OF THE STREET DOGS!_

Michonne then realized that all those various times mentioned rules of the Street dogs gotta have been written into that blackboard, but because of the distance between of her and to the blackboard, and also because of the Street dogs no doubt obvious unwillingness to share anything with her due to their view of her as one of the deeply hated Saviors, Michonne was unable to look that what kind of rules had been written to the blackboard behind of the main chair.

And the space beneath of this homemade duplex apartment's upstairs and private space had been taken into the use as well, even though it may not look like that due to its ceiling lamps being switched off, the windows were covered with a curtain, blocking all light from reaching to that room from outside and making it partially the solid dark... Not to mention about the room being also covered with the curtain from inside, though just partially due to the gap between of the curtains, through of which Michonne was able to eye  
the dark corner space a bit carefully with her eyes.

Through of that, Michonne learned that that space seemed to serve as a personal control room because there was a lone and large table in middle of that space, and on top of which was standing apparently a small model of a small city, as the model had a large with a miniature fence fenced area, inside of which was standing a wide neighborhood resembling area, along with the several buildings that were larger and different by appearance than the small models of the houses of the neighborhood area. However, two of these models of the larger buildings within the fenced area resembled somewhat market building and another resembled the factory in addition of that, there was also a miniature model of the small hill, on top of the which seemed to be the area that resembled the school area or something. In the next of the miniature model, in the same table, was lying a large map-looking object that showed of a large area, which was possibly the Street dogs entire territory with all the markings about the locations of the Street dogs outposts and secret roads out in the woods, along with the Street dogs troops planned movements.

And in behind of the table was standing three large and wide blackboard stands, into which had been most obviously written some important information, that possibly relates to the the high secret plans of the Street dogs, including the placements of their outposts and all planned movements that were marked into the map on the table. And judged by that, as well as in the fear of possible spy-activity within their own community, All these highly valued information written on the black and by the homemade darkness covered blackboards were obviously and strictly demanded to be kept as a top secret from the public and in known only among of the most trusted lieutenants of the Street dogs. And because of that, as well as due to her aggressively forward pushing escorts, Michonne was unable to check even more of this with her eyes.

And as Michonne was kept pushing forwards and towards of the table, Michonne's attention was caught by something on the inner wall of this apartment.

And the sight on the inner wall of the room caused her eyes widen out of shock-like surprise...

...because the sight was so familiar to her, as if she had seen it long ago in the past, though by different way.

Into the inner wall of this hall had been attached large number of long and wide wooden shelves into the about nine-twelve long lines, and equally with the shelves, into them had been attached the long lines of the large heavier nails to point upwards through of the thick shelves bottom sides...

...and into each of to upwards pointing nail had been attached the severed bloody and by the appearance varying - and as a walkers reanimated - human heads, nearly three dozen heads in each line of the shelves, with the mark of the baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire either burnt with branding iron or carved with knife into each head's forehead.

Well, from the marks of the baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire either burnt or carved to the heads foreheads told Michonne that these heads belonged originally to the Saviors from this territory, even though these Saviors had a far more different way to show their loyalty to Negan rather than referring themselves as "Negan" like all those Saviors back in the territories of Alexandria, Hilltop and Kingdom.

However, such of sight immediately reminded Michonne about those heads - especially in that helicopter's into the unfortunate and even fatal crash ended emergency landing severely wounded but survived military soldier named Lieutenant Welles' own - placed into the wish tanks for the amusement of the the Governor's back in his apartment she found during of her first moments in Woodbury with Andrea.

However, the only differences were, or might be, the motives of this between of two: The Governor was seemingly sick and he did something like this just for fun, and she herself nearly became part of it through of Merle. But the Street dogs motivation for doing this might be much more personal rather than gathering the heads of the Saviors (and maybe the innocent outsiders they encountered within their area) as a trophies.

And when Michonne turned her attention to the table, she saw that some of the seats were filled with one person.

Tobias Shadow was sitting on the main chair in another side of the table, and Billy was sitting in the chair next to his father's in the right side of the table and Chevalier Lumière was sitting in the second place in the adjoining chair in the left side of the table, at least viewed from this side of the table where she was standing at the moment.

There was also about eight completely to her strange people sitting on their seats in different places around of the table along with Tobias, Billy and Chevalier... and just like Tobias, Billy and Chevalier did, each one of them had their own dog companions with them...

...and along with the dogs, each one of them around the table had even guns with them in this meeting, and these Street dogs either kept them in their sheaths or on the thighs, or they had either placed their guns to lie onto the table or hung them to the corners of the backs of their chairs.

And so, the meeting between of the leaders of this community wasn't going to go without the firearms in the presence and in the in the Street dog lieutenants possession as Michonne had initially thought, but there might be a good reasons for that why the lieutenants had the weapons with them in the meeting.

One of the main reasons being the constant threat of the Saviors (or even the possibility to the assassinate attempt or even the rebellion of their own people), to which they needed to be prepared in every moment...

...another reason might be the trust in exchange for faith and loyalty... and in other words, the influence of Tobias' leadership on people of this community and the lieutenants around of him. The influence of Tobias' leadership over Street dogs seems to have been good enough to make these people probably to vow the blood oath out of their faith and loyalty for Tobias to willingly protect him with their own lives and bodies - even to the point of taking voluntarily the bullet for him - 'til the death releases them from this oath.

...And a third reason - which could be even a motive for a second reason - may be that Tobias and his lieutenants may have known each other for a long time before the beginning of all of this, either as good neighbors or as the best friends. The good terms and the long lasted friendship between of them may have been the good reasons enough that Tobias have dared to put his trust on them enough to allow them to wield guns around of him.

And the same reasons with the lieutenants' loyalty and reliability could also apply to Tobias' "Royal Guard" of Street dogs soldiers, which Tobias had carefully and testing their reliability chosen from his people as his personal "Royal Guard". They were all dressed in their black riot suits and armed with automatic rifles, and they all stood in the wide circle of thirty soldiers around of their leader, the table and the rest of the lieutenants nearly as motionless as the British Royal Guard, guarding the course of the meeting and waiting for orders from their leader.

The rest fifteen other seats were still empty, and for the reasons.

Two of the empty seats must belong to Buster and Megan Ramirez, as their names were written to the backs of the chairs, though none of those two were not at the presence right now, due to the facts that Buster was sent off to one of the Street dogs outposts for rising his gun against the fellow Street dog and Megan was sent to the excrement pit in shovel and cleaning works for violating the rules about the captives.

And the seats in next to Chevalier and Billy in their left side obviously, judged by the names in the backs of the chairs, belonged to Jackie and Zoe, whose fates after that battle in the woods next to that house were still unknown to both of her and to the Street dogs... as well as her beloved Rick's fate.

Two of the chairs next to Shadow family's, Zoe's and Chevalier's own belonged to Edward and Jeremy, Tobias personal bodyguards, hinting that those two served not only as bodyguards for their alpha but also as an lieutenants in the Street dogs military forces, though they either willingly or were ordered by Tobias to serve as a bodyguards.

And the three seats at the end of this side of the table obviously belonged for Bob, Dotty and Joshua, as their names were written into the backs of the seats.

And for the fourth chair that was placed to the tip of the end of this side of the table, it was probably meant for her - and probably for the previous prisoners before her - as the appearance of that chair resembled greatly the electric chair due to the shackles in its armrests and in its legs, but only without the electric helmet hanging above of the seat.

And for the owners of rest of the seats around the table, Michonne had no idea about what's became to them as they were not in presence as well... or were they either still alive and on duty at one of the outposts or in patrol or dead a long time ago in the hands of the Saviors or walkers.

However, her escorts did not allowed her time to think of that, as they kept pushing her towards the seats in the end of this side of the table...

And when they reached to the end of this side of the table, Joshua removed the chain from around of Michonne's neck and cut her hands free with the knife, but almost immediately Dotty and Bob roughly pressed her to sit down on the electric chair and chained her legs to the shackles in the chair's feet and her arms to the chair's armrests.

And once Michonne was chained on the seat, Joshua, Dotty and Bob sat down to the empty seats that were close to Michonne's chair and which had their names written to their backs. Joshua and Dotty sat down to the seats in the table's right side, while Bob sat down to the seat in the left side on the table.

Each one on the table then turned their eyes on Michonne, with the very same expression of hatred and despise towards her because of their belief of her as the Savior.

The silence lasted about ten minutes, until Tobias stood up from his chair.

"Michonne..." Tobias started, calling Michonne by her name. "Welcome to the heart of the Dog House, but do not expect to be openly and warmly welcomed to the Dog House." Tobias wished to Michonne, even though his welcome wish was less warm and heartfelt or he never even meant that

If the situation were completely different and if there never was the Saviors harassing the peace of his community and trespassing into his territory, Tobias would have liked to welcome her as well as every into their community arrived outsider/newcomer into their community and even as one of them... but thanks to the Saviors for some to Michonne unknown reasons, Tobias was far from that kind of man.

And after Tobias had finished, Billy opened his mouth next

"And I assume that after what you have witnessed and experienced, you probably know the good reasons to it. Don't you?" Billy said said with assuming, though also with a mocking, attitude and tone of voice.

But despite that, Michonne nodded half-humbly as an answer to Billy.

"I do, Billy. Because you all believe and view me as one of the Saviors, which I am not as I've already told you, who knows how many times already" Michonne said, though she was about to get tired to remind the Street dogs time after time about the positive fact that she wasn't one of the Saviors as they believed since her and Rick's first encounter with the Street dogs back at that house...

...though much to her from the Street dogs eyes hidden annoyance and frustration, the Street dogs just kept looking her with the hatred and scorn in their eyes and kept treating her like the prisoner - and as one of the Saviors, obviously implying that they still kept refusing to believe to her claim, which was in fact true.

During of this, Michonne thought to herself that only if she could learn the truth about the past encounters and events between the Street dogs and the Saviors, she would fully understand their current hostile behavior and attitude towards everybody outside of their own group (especially the Saviors)...

...but, for now, Michonne had no choice but just to tolerant the harsh treatment of the Street dogs, even though she would not like it, while waiting the moment of gaining the Street dogs full trust for her, if she wished to learn the truth of their hostile actions towards the Saviors and the other people outside of their group and accomplish Rick's mission to form the alliance with the Street dogs against their common enemy.

But before Michonne was able to continue, Tobias cut her off from her words.

"Mere words are not enough to confirm your claims as true, Michonne." Tobias said.

In the next to him, Billy seemed to be somewhat annoyed/frustrated after hearing Michonne's repeating claim for so many times against his people's belief and view about her, but unlike Michonne did, Billy apparently did not bother to hide his own frustration from everybody in the presence.

Michonne then opened her mouth, completely ignoring Joshua's strict warning that she should speak only when she was allowed the permission to speak...

...and earning the dark and warning look from Joshua, who secretly moved his hand towards the handle of his handgun.

"Well, I can see clearly that the Saviors in here has their very own way to show their affiliations with the form of either burnt or carved marks of the baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire in their foreheads." Michonne said, nodding with her head at the Saviors decapitated heads...

...thus getting at the same time most of the Street dog lieutenants and even the Street dogs fully armored guards on the presence to turn their attentions briefly at the Saviors beheaded heads placed on the shelves in the wall.

"But can you - everyone of you - see the very same mark burnt or carved on my forehead?" Michonne asked from every Street dog lieutenant in the presence around of the table, asking them at the same time to take a quick look at her forehead before revealing their answers to her.

However, Billy immediately fired back at Michonne's claim with his own claim.

"Or maybe you've not been given the one, for the understandable reasons. The person, either captured from outside of our territory and forced under threat of death or even volunteered to do their bidding, without the mark of the Saviors burnt or carved on their foreheads is to them the most perfect and the most back-stabbing way to blend in among of our people to spy our actions and our precious information." Billy said, to which everybody in the table nodded in agreement.

"And that's not all." Billy continued, as he pulled the walkie-talkie and binoculars out to show it to Michonne.

"We also happened to find these two vehicles called walkie-talkie with full batteries and binoculars from your van when our people examined it and its cargo, and it's probably intended for delivering the precious information of our actions for your Savior employers. And that's the evidence what makes you what we see of you... the spy. Nothing more than a spineless spy poorly disguised under of the lies." Billy claimed, much to Michonne's anger.

"That walkie-talkie is a false evidence to prove your ridiculous spy-stuff true, Billy." Michonne fired back, glaring at Billy in anger.

But, however, before Billy was able to fire back by words to Michonne's words, Tobias immediately jumped up from his seat and turned to Billy to shut him up.

"ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE!" Tobias barked loudly, targeting his dominating glare at his son...

...Thus getting Billy to go submissive with the same manner like all those people back in the big hall with a stage, where Michonne was initially kept as a prisoner, in the presence of Tobias when he arrived there... though Billy only put the walkie-talkie down on the table and merely lowered his head down in the same level with his shoulders.

Tobias seemed to accept that with the less hardened and accepting expression on his face and nodded to his son, thus granting him the permission to sit normally, before Tobias turned back to Michonne.

"And, before we go down to the far more important business with you and the reasons that why you are still alive and brought in here, I would like to introduce to you the rest of my most trusted lieutenants at first, of which you already know some from your previous encounters, such like my son Billy, my good french friend Chevalier, our doctor Joshua, our weapon specialist Bob, our stealthy scout Dotty and my personal bodyguards Edward and Jeremy... plus my another bodyguard Buster Roger and my reckless and rebellious top mechanic Megan Ramirez... and including the last but not least, Dodger Jamie." Tobias said as he alternately gestured with his hand each one of the lieutenants Michonne already knew, including the ones that weren't in the presence in the same room.

"Wait, that late teen boy is one of your lieutenants too?" Michonne asked, though not surprised/dumbfounded about that kind of new, as she had already seen one same aged boy named Benjamin possessing such of high rank in the militia forces during of her and her group's visit in Kingdom...

...and she also knows one certain early to teen boy from her own group, who has since their first met and their first common scavenging trip back in his old home town, proved his own through of various experiences developed survival skills and handling of guns, from the smallest to the biggest ones, to be with one hundred percent as good as any battle-hardened survivor of this whole apocalyptic world... and maybe even better.

However, as she once again ignored Joshua's warning's to speak only when she's allowed to by asking something like that, Joshua targeted his nasty glare at Michonne and was nearly about to pull his handgun completely out from its sheath and place its barrel onto Michonne's right temple, with intention to say "I TOLD YOU! YOU SPEAK ONLY WHEN YOU'RE ALLOWED TO!" with the strict and a warning tone, until...

"JOSHUA! STAND DOWN!" Tobias barked with the dominating glare at Joshua's eyes, like out of nowhere guessing/sensing Joshua's intentions before he even could put them into the action on Michonne.

And while being under of his leader's strict and dominating glare, Joshua lowered his own head down to the level of his own shoulders as a sign of submission while slowly placing his handgun back into its sheath and releasing his hand from its handle, and allowing Tobias to turn back to Michonne.

"Even though it is not your business to worry about at all... yes, even Dodger is one of my top lieutenants and even proudly leads under of my command the scout and guerrilla fighter unit of Street Dog Juniors formed from early to or late teens... who are as deadlier as the pack of angry and bloodthirsty chihuahuas." Tobias said with the pride...

...until he changed the subject.

"Alright, no more talking. Let's go back to the business at once!"

Tobias then introducing to Michonne the rest of his top lieutenants, starting from the first four ones sitting next to Chevalier.

"Alright, let's get started. See that guy sitting next to Chevalier, Michonne? His name is Marco Hawkins and he used to serve as my errand boy or messenger before the Saviors showed up. Now he serves as one of my right-hand-men." Tobias said, as he gestured with his hand at late 20s man sitting next to Chevalier.

This man, Marco Hawkins by name, had the messy black/blue hair and battle-hardened faces, judged from the some bruises around of his faces and a minor scar in his right cheek. He had dressed into the yellow shirt and yellow-green trousers and wore over them a green trench coat and yellow-green gloves. He was stroking with his fingertips on the table lying black Magnum Research Inc. Mark XIX Desert Eagle handguns as he glared with the disdainful look in his eyes at Michonne. His dog companion was a dark brown stray mutt.

"My another weapon specialist and the partner of Bob, Santos Simon... former colonel in the army before all of this shit." Tobias said as he moved his hand towards the next man Santos Simon by name, who was sitting next to Marco's place on the table.

This man, Santos Simon... or ex-colonel Santos Simon... by name, was a quite tall and muscular - and probably physically strong - dark-skinned African American man, who had a black chin beard and a short curly hair, and he had wrapped the blood-red bandana around of his forehead, right beneath of his hair, and he also wore the black sunglasses on his faces. He wore over him the white but dirty and somewhat torn sleeveless shirt with wide neckline, that showed the muscles in his arms, as well as military pants and black boots. And out of all the other lieutenants in the presence, Santos was the only one who carried more than just a one or couple of firearms with him, such as a M134 Vulcan Minigun and the M202 FLASH rocket launcher hanging from their slings in the upper corners of the back of the chair, a dual Mossberg 590 Compact Cruiser shotguns kept in the sheaths tied in his back. And on the table, Santos kept a Colt M16A4 assault rifle fitted with sniper scope, and dual of Norinco Type 56-1 rifles and dual black 357 Revolvers. Santos had also a two large military knives in the sheaths hanging in his belt and he was also carrying the grenade belt with several grenades hanging on it over his shoulder. His dog companion was a large and vicious-looking rottweiler.

"James Harold... also called with the nicknames of Jim or Jimmy. Our personal tracker and the leader of our daily hunting trips in the woods." Tobias continued, as he moved his hand towards the next two guys sitting in the middle of the gap between of Santos and Marco.

This one, James Harold by name, was a tall and slender guy, who had dressed into the torn dark-blue shirt and into the dark-green trousers. This guy had a long curly brown hair, beneath of which he had tied the blood-red bandana and he had a long brown mustache. He had also a black wing-vest with the head of angry wolf in its backside, and as his the weapon of choice, this guy used the crossbow that resembled somewhat Daryl's old Stryker Strykezone 380 crossbow he lost to Dwight in the beginning of all of this. And along with the crossbow, he carried Benelli M4 Super 90 shotgun, which was hanging from its slings in the right side upper corners of the back of the chair, and on the table was also lying under of his hand the Glock 19 pistol. And as his dog companions, he had over dozen black- gray- and brown-furred American Pit Bull Terriers.

"Paula Angela. Our look out." Tobias continued, gesturing at the woman sitting next to James.

This woman, Paula Angela by her name, had the dark brown hair and she was by her age in early to mid 30s. She has dressed into the red shirt and wore over of it the green military waistcoat with various pockets and blue jeans. Her weapon of choices were the Glock 19 pistol that was kept in its sheath in his belt and Remington 700 BDL fitted with a sound suppressor, which she carried in her back. Her dog companion was a large Bullmastiff.

Tobias then turned to the next four top lieutenants sitting in the same side of the table along with Dotty, Joshua and Billy.

"Judith Chacon...former aviation officer and a helicopter pilot from the army... now serving as the head commander of our Huey air forces." Tobias said as he gestured with his hand the woman sitting next to Joshua.

This woman, Judith Chacon by name, was late 30s slender woman with a long black hair, which she had tied behind of her head into the ponytail. She has dressed into the white sleeveless women shirt with the wide neckline, and she was also wearing the military sweatpants and boots. She also had the riot suit's chest armor and the pilot helmet hanging on the left corner of his seat's back of the chair. Her weapon of choices were FN FAL rifle and Glock 17 pistol. Her dog companion in next to her was stray Shetland Collie.

After hearing Judith's role among of the Street dogs, Michonne was a quite surprised that these guys had even Huey gunships in their possession.

"Copper Simmons." Topias continued while gesturing with his hand as the next one standing in next to Judith Chacon.

This guy, Copper Simmons by name, was a slender and muscular man in late 40s. He was a half bald man, who had tied a blue bandana around of the bald area of his head, and he still had a graying dark-brown abundant hair and a thick dark-brown mustache. By his other appearance and clothing, this guy resembled greatly the woodcutter, as he wore the woodcutter's dark-green work trousers fitted with suspenders, and wore over himself the red work shirt, which sleeves he had wrapped to his elbows, and thick brown boots. He also seemed to wielding in his hands a two-edged felling ax as his primary weapon of choice and he carried DefTech 37mm launcher in his back and the grenade belt over his shoulder. And as his dog companion(s), this guy seemed to have a trio of half-wild gray wolves (or wolfdogs) instead of dogs.

Tobias then gestured with his hand at two remaining top lieutenants standing in the middle of the wide gap between of Copper and Billy.

"Max Blackman... our midnight scout." Tobias said as he gestured with his hand at one of the men.

This one, Max Blackman, was a dark-skinned and slender and muscular African American man who was early 40s. He had a large and curly black hair and wore the black bandana and black sunglasses beneath of them and he had also a line of claw marks from dogs claws on his left cheek. This man was topless, though he still wore the thick dark brown winter jacket on himself, which he apparently kept open to erase the extra heat from inside of it, showing several other claw marks on his chest. He also wore the black sweatpants and military boots. He had a night vision binoculars hanging on his neck and he seemed to be carrying black-handled katana in his back. He also hat moved the skirt of his coat aside to show Michonne his concealed guns, such like dual IMI Desert Eagle Mark VII handguns in their sheaths in his belt and dual Steyr TMP in his thigh holsters. Max also kept on the table and under of his grasp Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun. And as his dog companion who was sitting next to his seat, was a black labrador retriever.

"And finally, Buck Bennett... former sailor, who serves now as our warehouse manager." Tobias finished while gesturing at the last guy in the next of Max.

This final guy, Buck Bennett by name, was a muscular, slightly obese and bald man with a messy gray beard and black and thick brows, who's by his age in late 50s. He wore the gray-green and torn sleeveless shirt, wide-skirted blue pants and black boots and he also had a torn and dirty sailor's coat and sailor's had dual double barrel shotgun pistols hanging in their sheaths tied to his back and he also carried a Double barrel shotgun. And his dog companions was a large St. Bernard.

Each one of them had their eyes targeted at Michonne... each one of them having suspicious, hateful and despicable gaze in them. And even some of their dogs growled threateningly and angrily at her from the next or behind of their masters/mistresses.

"And before we get started with the second phase of this meeting, I inform to all of you that my four other still living lieutenants, Laura Bonnie, Amos Clayton, Rico Jones and Charlie Sherman, haven't now taken part of this meeting, because they are at the moment in the mission of leading the Street dogs cleaning patrol to the woods around of that house in next of our border, where Billy and Chevalier encountered our guest and this Rick called guy for the first time, cleaning up the mess of the carnage left behind there and to reclaim back all our belongings left behind there for the strangers... and worst, for the Saviors to claim." Tobias informed to his other lieutenants, as he pointed with his hand at the four empty seats with the mentioned names Laura Bonnie, Amos Clayton, Rico Jones and Charlie Sherman written to the seats backs.

Ignoring once again Joshua's stern warning, Michonne was about to ask from Tobias the several questions about the current situation and about everything she had both witnessed and heard; such like that why she was still alive and not killed like the numerous outsider people (and the Saviors) the Street dogs had already encountered and killed mercilessly before the encounter with her and Rick? Why she was even brought to their community in the first place after the battle with her and Rick back at that house? Why did Tobias even bothered to introduce his lieutenants to her despite viewing her as one of the Savior or even the Savior spy? What Tobias did mean about the "cleaning group" that obviously he himself sent to that house to "clean up" the bloody mess left behind to there? And first of all, what they even wanted for her?

However, before Michonne even got the word out of her mouth after opening it to ask one of her questions, Tobias immediately silenced her with lifting his hand up as a sign of silence and with the cold and strict look in his eyes targeted at Michonne's in order to speak himself.

"I know what you are about to ask from me, Michonne." Tobias started, revealing that he already knew what Michonne was about to ask from him like having read her minds before opening his own mouth...

"But I'm gonna remind you about one thing, Michonne... about the captured outsiders' positions among of the Streed dogs where the Saviors are not welcomed and where the Saviors so-called rules and rights has no place... and about you apparently not listening even a little bit of Joshua's strict warnings and the strict demands set for you. Here, you're not a welcome guest but from outside captured outsider, possibly even a Savior or Savior's spy. And that's why, as our prisoner, you have no right to speak a single word nor ask any questions for us unless you're given the permission for that. As long as you're our prisoner, you're demanded to do exactly what you're told to do and not vice versa or at your own will. Here... from now on... and until the end of this meeting, you will stay completely silent and listen... and you better listen carefully, because I'm not going to waste my or any other of my lieutenants precious time by repeating myself over and over again merely because of poorly paid attention of the prisoners. Did I made myself clear?" Tobias coldly and strictly asked from Michonne...

...who, unmoved by Tobias harsh tone, nodded humbly.

And with that, the expression in his faces turned to hardened, harsh and cold as he kept his eyes locket to Michonne's.

"Good." Tobias said, as he sat down back to his chair.

But once he did so, he suddenly snapped his fingers at two of his soldiers before pointing with it at Michonne's direction.

And after that, the soldiers immediately placed their into the fists squeezed right hands to their chest armors chests before slightly bowing to Tobias, before they handed over their rifles to their fellow colleagues and walked from their positions in the ring towards Michonne and her escorts, until they stopped and positioned themselves on both sides of Michonne's seat.

And after doing that, they immediately took our into their gloved hands the black tasers, fully charged, and after which the soldiers set their tasers on, which was within the seconds followed by the blue-white electric beams to appear out of nowhere in between of the tasers two metal contact surfaces.

And upon seeing the tasers and the blue-white electric beams between of the tasers two metal contact surfaces in both sides of her, Michonne's eyes widened in the shock - and the presence of the tasers even provoked Michonne to struggle, albeit in vain, against her bounds that kept her pinned to her seat - after recalling in her mind about Joshua's strict warnings of what will happen if she does not answer to their questions honestly.

"Here is the reasons that why you are still alive, Michonne." Tobias then said, earning Michonne's reluctant attention, as she felt herself really uncomfortable near of the soldiers tasers and even being unable to defend herself against them.

"Usually, we do not take external prisoners during our patrols, but we are sometimes desperately in need of information about the Saviors' operations beyond of borders of our territory... whatever we can use for our own benefit, and even against the saviors. Therefore, all the outsiders we find inside our area, must be captured if possible and brought to the Doghouse. And in here, they're temporarily placed under of the protection of the Street dogs' the most rarely used rule: All the prisoners are kept alive for so long until they have been interrogated. And that rule remains valid until all valuable and necessary information, including through of espionage from our people's operations gathered information, has been recovered and there's no more information available from the prisoner." Tobias explained.

"That's why you were brought here and kept alive ... for this moment. Each one of us is going to ask one by one a one question for you and it's up to you to answer to our questions... honestly... without lies... without delaying... without side questions... without tricks. All what we want is the honest truth... the answer... and the reason to it. And do not waste both of yours and ours time of thinking and questioning that what happens to the prisoners as soon as the questions have been answered and all the necessary information is taken. Your survival depends on how honest, credible and trustworthy your answers are."

"And remember, Michonne: Lie to us... delay your response... ask even a single side question instead of answering the question for you... try to hide any precious information from us... and I will gladly allow my guards in next to you to use their tasers on you as many times until you finally answer to our questions. And if the electric tasers aren't enough to get you to co-operate with us, we'll take everything we want to know out of you with one way or another." Tobias threatened.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 **Michonne has been brought in front of the Street dogs Alpha Tobias Shadow and his top lieutenants for** **interrogation, and they will not hesitate to use the torture methods to make Michonne to answer to the questions the lieutenants are about to ask from her.  
**

 **What will happen next, we'll see it after the next chapter.**

 **I hope that you guys liked this chapter.  
**

 **See ya in the next time.**


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